WENGER: CHELSEA RUINED ARSENAL SIGNING HAZARD

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that he was close to bringing Eden Hazard to the Emirates before Chelsea made a bid for him.

The highly rated Belgian, who became a star at French club Lille, was chased by several clubs, including Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger met Hazard’s agent to negotiate terms at his home. But Premier League opponents Chelsea swooped in and won him over mainly because of their financial superiority.

Wenger told BeIN Sports: “Yes, I wanted to take him, I had his agent at my home but again the barrier was financial and Chelsea made an effort that I couldn’t make. He can be one of the players who grows into the Messi, Ronaldo stature if he continues to develop well.”

Wenger’s contract with the Gunners will end this season. But the Frenchman hasn’t yet signed a new deal revealing that he would consider a move to Germany if he was to leave the Gunners in the future.

Wenger said, “If I was to go somewhere then I think it would be in a different country because I am so much Arsenal that I would not like to coach anywhere else in England.”

“Germany (is an option) because I am of German culture a little bit and it’s a country where I have never worked and I am very close to it,” he added.