Arsene Wenger has revealed Arsenal missed out on the chance to sign Leicester City midfielder N’Golo Kante.
Kante, 24, has been one of the stars of the Premier League this season and his dynamic box-to-box running has been integral behind Leicester’s stunning campaign.
However, the Frenchman could have ended up at Arsenal had Wenger acted quicker to signing him after going to watch the midfielder following a tip from a friend.
“Kante is a huge force in their team,” Wenger is quoted as saying by Sky Sports. “Of course I know him. You look at his career and you will be amazed. Because he played in Suresnes in Paris at the age of nine, 10 years old.
“After, he went to Boulogne as an amateur. They didn’t want to sign him pro. Then he went to Caen, and then he came finally to England. But, everywhere he has been, he has always adopted to the level where he was.
“One of my best friends in life knows him since he was 10 years old, and he spoke to me about him. We went to watch him and we saw he had quality, but I didn’t know he would come so quickly to England."
No player in Europe’s top five leagues has completed as many interceptions as Kante this season (103).
For more stats on N’Golo Kante, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
