Arsene Wenger admits missing out on Yaya Toure is among his biggest regrets

 
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Tom Dutton29 March 2014

Arsene Wenger has admitted missing out on the signing of Manchester City linchpin Yaya Toure in 2003 is one of his biggest regrets in football.

The Arsenal manager - whose side is preparing to host Toure's Manchester City on Saturday - had the Ivory Coast international on trial at Highbury when he was at Belgian side Beveren.

But the City man was not eligible for a work permit and - despite Wenger's best efforts to land him a European passport - Toure could not team up with his brother Kolo in north London and returned to Belgium.

The 30-year-old instead joined Urkainian side Metalurh Donetsk and excelled through the ranks before moving to Olympiakos and then Barcelona.

And Wenger, who regards the player a 'top-class talent', has revealed he deeply regrets missing his signature, but insists there was nothing Arsenal could do about it.

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"It's up at the top," Wenger said when asked how much he regretted missing the physical midfielder.

"But let's not forget that Yaya Toure had an agreement with us and it's not because we did not want to sign him that he went to Ukraine.

"We had to wait for his passport in Belgium. We have made mistakes [with transfers], but this was not a mistake.

"He preferred to go to Metalurh Donetsk because he could go there without a passport."

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