Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante, Vincent Kompany, Didier Drogba, Gianluigi Buffon, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi….add young Federico Valverde to this list. This is the eternal list of Arsenal’s failures in recent years, or to be precise, Arsen Wenger years. The famous Gunners manager spotted these future stars in their teens, but for a number of reasons, none of these transfers happened. And now British media found another gem which Arsenal missed on – Federico Valverde. The Uruguayan midfielder is another big name which has been mentioned since the start of the season due to his great form. Since arriving from Penarol in 2016, Valverde already has two LaLiga titles and the Champions League in his CV, but it could have been a different situation for him if only Arsenal acted quickly.Arsenal ‘reached a verbal agreement’ with Federico Valverde in 2014, then at Penarol, after scout Francis Cagigao recommended him to Arsène Wenger & convinced the player, his family & his agent that a move to Arsenal was the best one for him. [AS] #afc pic.twitter.com/LRq1w4YYGq— afcstuff (@afcstuff) September 25, 2022 In 2014, Valverde was recommended to Wenger by his scout Francis Cagigao, and the Frenchman agreed to take him on trial. The young midfielder, aged only 16 back then, came to London, spent some time in the Arsenal camp and even trained with the first team. In a now deleted tweet, Valverde shared the news.”Very happy for everything and what could be nicer than saying goodbye to the year with tremendous news, that you are traveling to an invitation to Arsenal in England” he tweeted.“I will tear up my coaching license and leave because of Valverde”According to the British media, a verbal agreement was even in place However, the club decided to hold putting an offer on the table, which proved to be a massive mistake. Valverde returned to Uruguay and went to the South American U17 Championship in Paraguay not long after. He exploded there and scored 7 goals which immediately got the attention of the mighty Real Madrid. Arsenal then rushed to make an offer, believed to be more than 3 million euros, but they were late. The Royal club convinced him to sign for them for 5 million euros, and after loans to Deportivo La Coruna and episodes in Real’s youth team, he finally got a chance in the first team.##NAJAVA_MECA_6676892##The Aftermath? Gunners have Xhaka and Partney in midfield, while Valverde has 4 goals and two assists so far this season. Liverpool even put a 100 million euros bid for him in the last days of July transfer window, but Real flat refused, claiming he is ‘untouchable’, especially after Casemiro’s departure.
