Arsenal missed out on potential superstar when Alexis Sanchez’s move to Manchester City collapsed

Alexis Sanchez missed out on the chance to sign for Manchester City after Arsenal were rejected by the player he would have been swapped for.

In January 2018, the Chilean was at the end of his time in north London and ultimately signed for Manchester United in an exchange for Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

But that was after his long flirtation with City, which included constant communcation with Pep Guardiola, his old boss at Barcelona.

Sanchez has insisted that money was not the reason for him joining United over City - given they offered the same amount - as instead it was an unnamed player rejecting a move to Arsenal.

“I was about to go to City,” he is quoted by The Sun as saying.

“I spoke to Guardiola every day, he wished me happy birthday. He was like my father. He was my father at Barcelona and he was like my father at City.

“We talked, we talked every day, he sent me messages. And everything was ready, there was a player who was going to go to Arsenal.

“Then [Arsene] Wenger tells me you are not leaving because the other player did not want to come and they do not have another.

“Suddenly the cell phone rings. [Jose] Mourinho tells me, 'Alexis, we have the seven [shirt] available for you’.”

Mkhitaryan enjoyed a reasonably positive 18 months at Arsenal while Sanchez also lasted for only a short time at Old Trafford.

While he does not name the player who turned down the Gunners, potential candidates in that year’s City squad include Eliaquim Mangala, Fabian Delph and John Stones - who was linked with a move away that year.