Gonzalo Higuaín has revealed just how close he was to signing for Arsenal nine years ago from Real Madrid, and mentioned his surprise at how the Gunners then went on to sign Los Blancos teammate Mesut Ozil for a massive fee just days after turning him down.
After impressing early on in his Madrid career, he soon found himself beneath Karim Benzema in the pecking order and felt he needed a new challenge.
Although he eventually left Madrid for Napoli and became a massive success in Serie A, the Argentine lifted the lid on his ordeal with Arsenal, as well as discussing other facets of his career in a recent interview.
“Before I went to Napoli there was [a chance to sign for Arsenal]. We had already spoken but they didn’t buy me, they buy Ozil for 80 million or something like that,” he told TyC Sports.
“They told me: ‘We don’t have a lot of money to spend. You’re expensive’. From there I went to Napoli. Two days later I see Ozil [signs] for 80 million euros,” he laughed.