Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 'I was never close to signing for Arsenal'

 

The Evening Standard's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

No chance: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Jochan Embley7 October 2014

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has claimed he was never close to signing for Arsenal, despite meeting with Arsene Wenger over a possible move in 2001.

After spending five years with Swedish side Malmo, Ibrahimovic was invited to north London by the Arsenal boss to take part in a trial.

But the Sweden captain has now admitted that despite having an official meeting with Wenger, he was never close to signing for the Gunners.

“Today, Wenger says it was a misunderstanding,” Ibrahimovic said in an interview with The Guardian. “But I didn’t like being asked to prove myself.

“I know I’m good enough. I don’t need to show it to you. Either you know who I am or you don’t.

“I remember being in Wenger’s office and you could tell he was the boss. It was Wenger!

Arsene Wenger's worst Arsenal signings XI

1/11

“But I don’t think I was so close [to signing for Arsenal]. I went to Ajax the next day.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in