Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that he twice failed to sign N'Golo Kante.
The French midfielder was a pivotal part of Leicester City's remarkable Premier League title win last season, and he has carried that form into his new club Chelsea.
Kante joined the West London outfit for £32m last summer, and is on course to claim his second consecutive league winners' medal as Chelsea have a nine-point lead at the top of the table.
In Friday's press conference, Wenger revealed that he tried to sign Kante while he was at Caen and last summer before he signed for the Blues.
"When he was in France, and when he was at Leicester," Wenger told reporters.
When asked why the midfielder opted for West London rather than North, the Gunners boss said: "I cannot explain everything but it is quite obvious when you look where he has gone. I do not want to talk about it, transfers are transfers. You cannot explain absolutely everything."
Kante has played in all but one of Chelsea's league games this season and he is expected to be in the lineup for Saturday's visit of Arsenal.
Danielle Joynson
