Arsenal missed out on Eto’o by a whisker
Back in 2000, Arsenal had just come second in the Premier League, but we were a massive 18 points off Manchester United, so Arsene Wenger went looking for firepower. The Frenchmand had signed Thierry Henry and Dvor Suker the previous summer, and that summer ended up getting Wiltord and Pires among others. It didn’t win us the title, but it cut the deficit to 10 points, but it could have been so different.
The new Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o was looking for a new club that summer, having been loaned out by Real Madrid and realising he was not going to break through. He went to Real Mallorc for four seasons before hitting the big time and moving to Barcelona, but he has revealed that he was on the verge of signing for Arsenal before the Mallorca coach Luis Aragones stepped in and hijacked the deal.
Eto’o said, “I was about to sign that very afternoon at Arsenal and maybe I would never have been the player I am today.
“Luis picked me, then I ended up joining Barcelona. That decision changed everything.”
The Cameroonian striker went on to great things, 9including Champions League wins with Inter Milan and Barcelona, but to say he might not have been as good a player if he came to Arsenal shows that he knows nothing about Arsenal and Wenger in those days. I think he would probably have become a better striker under Le Prof. He might have become a better person as well, because his character has often been questioned during his career.
After hearing that Arsenal missed out in Ibrahimovic when he was young, and now Eto’o, who’s next, Messi?
