Arsene Wenger reveals Arsenal tried to sign Gareth Barry in 2009… but could not compete with Manchester City
ARSENE WENGER admits he tried to sign Gareth Barry - but was blown away by the spending power of Manchester City.
Barry is set to claim the record for all-time Premier League appearances if he lines up for West Brom against Arsenal on Monday night.
The former England midfielder is currently tied with Ryan Giggs on 632 appearances in the English top flight and will take the record for himself if he plays at the Emirates next week.
And Gunners boss Wenger has revealed he would have been part of his squad for years had he got his wish in 2009 when he tried to sign him.
Wenger said: "We were interested in him when he moved from Villa to City.
"But City were the big investors then, and that financial potential was superior to ours at the time."
A host of top clubs were in the hunt to sign Barry eight years ago, with Liverpool also strongly trying to take the midfielder from Villa Park.
But like Arsenal they were unable to compete the the sheer financial power of City who splashed out £12million to sign him even though they were not playing Champions League football at the time.
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Since then he has continued to be one of the most consistent players in the English game, and Wenger has paid tribute to the career he has gone on to enjoy.
Wenger said: "I believe it is an outstanding achievement of a player who is intelligent, determined, and strong in the challenge.
"I have personally always rated him highly. He was a bit unlucky with England because he was playing in the period of Lampard and Gerrard.
"So he probably didn't get the amount of caps he should have done. But to get this record is a big achievement for him."
Another player Wenger knows well will also be looking to make an impression for West Brom on Mondau - Kieran Gibbs.
The defender joined the Baggies last month after deciding to quit Arsenal going into the final year of his contract.
Wenger added: "Gibbs became England international here, he made a good career here, Arsenal is very proud for that.
"What happened with him was he was bothered a few times when he was in front of other players, he had fitness problems as well, and that stopped him here.
"We didn’t offer him a new deal, that is why he decided to go."
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