“I had an offer from Arsenal”: Premier League winner reveals how Gunners tried to sign him

Former Swiss International midfielder Gokhan Inler has now revealed that he had the opportunity to join Arsenal during his time at Udinese. 

However, the Italian outfit refused to sell him back then. The player eventually ended up in the Premier League with Leicester City, and he won the league title with them during the 2015-16 season.

Arsene Wenger wanted to bring the Swiss International midfielder to Arsenal during his time at the club. He was a quality player for Udinese and Napoli. There is no doubt that he had the attributes to do well in the Premier League as well. He could have been a useful option for them.

Inler revealed on The Italian Football Podcast: “Of course, during this time, I had an agent. I didn’t have so much information as I was concentrating on the pitch. Yes, the rumours were there. Behind the scenes, now I understand what happens behind the scenes, but before, you don’t know what’s going on.

“But yeah, it could be, I read about this. But I can say, and many people don’t know about this, but in my first year at Udine, I had an offer from Arsenal. However, the club said no, Inler is part of our project, so I stayed there four years.

“Yes, Arsene Wenger wanted me correct. Like I said, I didn’t know what was going around but I was also a Swiss national team player with Johan Djourou and Philippe Senderos were Arsenal players. That’s why I saw the coach with the national team, but in the end the club decided to keep me and I had a great four years with Udinese.”

Inler barely made any impact in English football with the Foxes when he did end up in the Premier League. He made just 10 appearances across all competitions for them, but he did win the league title.

Meanwhile, the player is now the sporting director at his former club Udinese.

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