'This is my club': £129m midfielder says he genuinely thought he was going to sign for Arsenal

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Arsenal have missed out on some very talented players over the years.

Arsene Wenger nearly signed N'Golo Kante for Arsenal, while Clarence Seedorf almost signed for Arsenal during his heyday.

Speaking to Marca, Federico Valverde has now shared a story of how he almost became an Arsenal player.

The Real Madrid star is now one of the premier names in world football, but back when he was just a 16-year-old unknown, he had a trial with the north London club.

Valverde was completely sold on the idea of signing for the Gunners, but, for one reason or another, the move didn't go ahead.

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Federico Valverde thought he would sign for Arsenal

Valverde shared how he thought he was going to become an Arsenal player.

Liverpool apparently bid £129m for Valverde last summer, showing just how valuable a player he has become.

“I was 16. I said: ‘That’s it. This is my club. I’m going to grow here.' In Uruguay, the Premier League was watched a lot. I imagined a future there," Valverde said.

"I enjoyed it and I trained with spectacular players. I don’t know if he’ll remember me, but Dibu was one of the ones who helped me the most in everything, along with Bellerín, Alexis and Cazorla . I didn’t know English and they had to explain all the work to me."

Federico Valverde's achievements since failed Arsenal move

Valverde has become an absolute superstar at Real Madrid.

Valverde has been hailed as one of the world's best midfielders by Rodrigo Bentancur, and despite being just 26 years old, he's already achieved everything there is to achieve in club football multiple times over.

Valverde has a trophy collection that any player would be envious of at the end of their career, but Valverde still has a long way to go in this sport.

Arsenal have a lot of regrettable transfer near misses in their history, but this may be the most painful of the lot.

Imagining Valverde in a midfield alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard is a mouth-watering prospect to say the least, but, sadly, we'll probably never get the chance to see these three play together.

Arsenal have been made to live to regret missing out on Valverde as he's since become a huge star for Real Madrid.