While they might not have won the trophies to reflect it in recent years, Arsenal are undoubtedly one of the biggest clubs in English football.

The Gunners have a long and storied history littered with sensational footballers who have been great entertainers and serial winners.

However, due to their size, the North Londoners have also missed out on their fair share of talents as well.

There are countless stories of Arsène Wenger just missing out on youngsters who went on to be world-beaters, but one player, who is now worth a fortune, has perhaps haunted them more than any other in modern history.

The ones that got away

So, of all the stars that could have been wearing red and white, let’s start with someone who many would consider the best player in the world: Kylian Mbappé.

Yes, according to Sky Sports, long before he made his way to Paris Saint-Germain, the Gunners were incredibly keen on signing the sensational French forward, with the World-Cup winger explaining that it was more than a passing interest.

Unfortunately for the Gunners, despite trying again in 2017, it was clear that they could not afford the astronomical £160m fee that the Parisians would eventually pay for him, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Going slightly further back now, and before he was tearing it up for cross-city rivals Chelsea, Eden Hazard was on the North Londoner’s radar.

In a 2019 interview with GOAL, former chief transfer negotiator Dick Law confirmed that back in 2012, the club were seriously considering a move for the Belgian magician.

Still, as fans will attest, that was a point in time when the club were very reticent to splash the cash. So they passed up on the opportunity and over the next seven years they had to watch the incredible talent rack up a haul of 110 goals and 85 assists in 359 trophy-laden appearances for the West Londoners.

However, while both of these transfer misses certainly sting, neither would prove to be quite as damaging to the club as the decision to release one of their own youth players, who’s since gone on to become one of the best goalscorers in football history.

One that got away

The transfers that nearly happened but never did. This article is part of Football FanCast's One That Got Away series.

Arsenal's Harry Kane mistake

Yes, most of you will probably have guessed by now that the player in question is England captain and goalscorer extraordinaire Harry Kane.

The sensational striker spent about a year in the Gunners’ youth ranks before he was released in 2002, with Roy Massey, the club’s former academy manager, explaining that at the time, the club believed the youngster “didn’t have what we thought it would take to become a professional footballer”.

While that sounds absurd today, he does point out that the future international spent the next few years playing for a non-league youth side before Tottenham Hotspur finally came in for him.

Unfortunately for Arsenal fans, they are more than aware of what happened next, as in the decade since he made his first-team debut, the world-class striker has made a habit of scoring against the club, racking up a haul of 15 goals and two assists against the Gunners in just 21 appearances.

Appearances

19

2

Goals

14

1

Assists

2

0

Goal Involvements

0.84

0.50

Wins/Draws/Losses

7/5/7

1/1/0

However, while his goals against the club are a particularly direct reminder of their mistake in letting him go, he’s also gone on to become arguably the greatest goalscorer in the world, with an absurd tally of 361 goals and 94 assists in 565 appearances since the 2009/10 season, equating to a goal involvement on average every 1.24 games.

Moreover, despite being on the wrong side of 30 and going into his second season playing for Bayern Munich, the “world-class” icon, as dubbed by former manager Antonio Conte, is showing no signs of slowing down and already has ten goals and five assists to his name in six appearances, which helps to explain his sky-high valuation of €100m, which converts to about £84m.

Ultimately, Arsenal have missed out on signing a lot of young superstars in the past, but their biggest mistake has to be releasing Kane for free, as the Englishman has been a consistent and potent thorn in their side ever since.

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