Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde says he is very close to signing for Arsenal | Gooner Talk

Madrid from Penarol in 2016 after having a week-long trial at London Colney and has since won two La Liga titles and one Champions League, weighing in with 19 goals and 18 assists in 215 games after making his debut in 2018-19.

Most of the players who were once close to joining Arsenal under Wenger have retired, with the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Gerard Pique, Vincent Kompany, Gareth Bale, Yaya Toure, Ronaldinho, Claude Makelele, Eden Hazard, Xabi Alonso, Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic some of them.

Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba, Raphael Varane, N’Golo Kante, Angel Di Maria, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez and Kylian Mbappe were also close to joining Arsenal at one point or the other, but it was not to be.