Arsene Wenger admits Gareth Bale interest

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has claimed that he was close to signing Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale when the player was at Southampton.

The 22-year-old moved to White Hart Lane in 2007 for around £5m.

However, Wenger told reporters that he instead chose to sign Bale's Southampton teammate Theo Walcott for around £12m.

When asked if he nearly signed Bale, the Gunners boss said: "Yes, but we had full-backs at the time. We had [Gael] Clichy, we had [Ashley] Cole.

"We were more on Walcott. Walcott was a lot of money."

Arsenal host Spurs in the Premier League on Sunday.