There were a lot of players who Arsene Wenger narrowly missed out on during his time in charge of Arsenal, which was no surprise given his eye for talent.
Wenger revolutionised scouting processes in the Premier League as his knowledge of French football helped him recruit the likes of Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka, and he was eager to add more talent from his home country and league.
In January 2006, Wenger was keen on adding a new striker to his squad to bolster his options, and landed Emmanuel Adebayor from Monaco.
However, before a young Adebayor moved to Highbury, Wenger was actually keen on signing Auxerre forward Benjani, who eventually moved to Portsmouth and became something of a Premier League cult hero.
Benjani reveals failed Arsenal move before Portsmouth spell
Speaking via Portsmouth News, the Zimbabwean forward revealed that Wenger was eager to sign him from Ligue 1 before Adebayor joined, and that there was lingering interest even after he moved to England.
“I was originally supposed to sign for Arsenal, actually. I was playing with Djibril Cisse at the time, and he was just about to secure his move to Liverpool, which sadly meant it was just impossible for Auxerre to sell both of us in the same summer. Two big players, big strikers – that was never going to happen,” Benjani revealed.
“At that time, Djibril was playing more than me, because I’d only just arrived at the club, so I was still getting used to things – but Djibril picked up an injury and I took over. I played so well, and that’s when a lot of teams and managers started looking at me. Wenger was amongst them.
“Even when I signed for Portsmouth in January 2006, my manager told me that Wenger still wanted to sign me, but my manager wanted me to see out the rest of the season with Auxerre, which meant that Wenger ended up signing Emmanuel Adebayor from Monaco.”
Arsenal and Benjani do not regret failed transfer in 2006
Although Adebayor is a hated figure at the Emirates now, given the circumstances in which he departed to join Manchester City, and the fact that he would then join Tottenham Hotspur, there is no denying how good he was at his very best for Arsenal.
Benjani did move to Portsmouth in the same window that Adebayor had joined Arsenal, but he has admitted that there were no regrets over how it panned out for him.
“I’m not bothered about that move failing to materialise, because I’ve seen it so many times in football; it happens so much. You can’t build your hopes up on one potential move because there’s always a chance it falls through, and it allowed me to sign for Portsmouth, which ended up being such a special place for me,” he added.
“I’ve seen Arsene a few times since those early rumours. I remember meeting him in Africa for the World Cup, then again in Dubai at some point, and in London, too.
“He’s a very good man who knows his football so well – but I’ve never asked him why he didn’t sign me!”
Benjani would go on to score 26 Premier League goals in 119 games for Portsmouth and later Manchester City, whilst Adebayor scored 97 and assisted 38 in 242 games.
Whilst Benjani became a cult hero for his performances, which included a hattrick as Portsmouth beat Reading 7-4 in the highest scoring game in Premier League history, Wenger did get the better deal by signing Adebayor, despite how it ended.