Arsena had a deal with Di Maria at 17

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits Manchester United star Angel di Maria could've been a Gooner!

Di Maria cost a British record £59.7m when he moved from Real Madridto Manchester United in the summer, but Wenger admitted they nearly got him when he was just 17.

"We had identified Di Maria when he was 17," he said. "We wanted him to come here. So he goes to Portugal [with Benfica], from Portugal he goes to Spain. Why? Because he could not get a work permit.

"That means you can only get him to England once he is worth a huge amount of money.

"Messi is a different example because he was in Barcelona from a very young age. But a player like Di Maria, he left [Argentina] at 18 years of age. We saw him in an international competition.

"What does it mean if at the end of the day he comes anyway into the country, just with a huge amount of money and that is the only difference. And who do you pay this huge amount of money to? A club like Real Madrid. They don't need the money.

"Let's open it completely. We live in a world where artificial protection is negative.

"If you want to be the best league in the world then you have to accept that you have to produce the best players in the world so the question is how can you produce the best players?

"One thing is for sure, if you put a young player with top level players he has more chance to develop. If you put him with average players he has more chances to remain average. We have to accept that."
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