Furious Arsene Wenger says Monaco told him that Anthony Martial was not for sale.
The Gunners boss did not submit an offer for the in-demand striker this summer after being told that no price would lure him away from the principality.
But Wenger has hit back at Monaco bosses after Martial was sold to Manchester United for £36million - and even turned down a bigger up-front fee from a mystery European club .
Monaco lost a host of their star names over the summer after impressing in the Champions League and Wenger did not think they would risk also losing one of their hottest prospects.
"I was surprised they sold him," Wenger said.
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"The amount of money was massive. I believe that you could think that, if you are Monaco, you could have sold him as well next season.
"So I thought they would not sell him this year because they sold many other players.
"I thought they would maintain their word. He was not sellable. He was not on the list. He was one of the players Monaco did not want to sell, so we never made an approach for him.
"Only an acceptable amount of money after could do it. We always liked him, even when he was in Lyons."
Martial is expected to lead the line for United when they travel to the Emirates on Sunday afternoon.