Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was apparently very keen on signing Ukrainian teenage talent Oleksandr Zinchenko during his Shakhtar Donetsk days, only to be beaten to his signature byPremier League rivals Manchester City instead.
Zinchenko's agent Sandor Varga has claimed that Wenger made it clear he wanted Zinchenko when the midfielder was still only 17-years-old and was certain he would become an important first-team player.
"Wenger called and said, 'I have need for that player. He's going to play in the first team. I know he is only seventeen, but I'm going to write a letter to his family that I will take care of him when he is with us and he'll play in the first team'," Varga told Championat in Russia.
"Arsene had seen a youth game of Shakhtar and took 20 minutes to assess the potential of Oleksandr. Wenger asked me ten times about Zinchenko and I later informed him and felt even a bit sad because I couldn't help him."
Varga had previously spoken on the subject when a 19-year-old Zinchenko made the move to Manchester City from FC Ufa, shortly after representing Ukraine as one of the youngest players at Euro 2016 during the summer.
It was a Europa Youth League game between Arsenal and Shakhtar in 2014 that had caught Wenger's eye. At the time of the City move,Varga simply said that there had been a 'problem' after Arsenal made an offer, by which time Zinchenko was on the radar of a lot of other clubs.
The teenager joined Ufa in Russia in 2015, playing at least semi regularly during his 18 months there, and is currently on loan from Manchester City at PSV Eindhoven.
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