Arsene Wenger was close to signing a lot of top players during his time at Arsenal, and some of them have now become managers after hanging up their boots.
Former Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta is currently managing the club, whilst several other Wenger players are now in management: Cesc Fabregas is coaching Como, Robin van Persie is manager of Herenveen, and Sylvinho is leading Albania into Euro 2024.
Another former central midfielder has now followed the likes of Arteta, Xabi Alonso and Thiago Motta into coaching a top club, as Nuri Sahin has now been confirmed as Borussia Dortmund’s new manager.
The former Turkey international played for Dortmund, Real Madrid and Liverpool among others, but his playing career could have been very different had he completed a move to Arsenal in 2012.
Arsenal pulled out of Nuri Sahin signing in 2012
Sahin was a highly promising midfielder at Dortmund, so much so that Real Madrid elected to buy him in 2011, but he was starved of game time at the Santiago Bernabeu.
At that point Sahin was 23, but highly rated with some of Europe’s biggest clubs chasing him. Wenger wanted him to replace Alex Song, who was joining Barcelona, and there was a very real prospect of Sahin partnering Arteta in the Arsenal midfield.
Arsenal were on the verge of completing a loan deal which would have seen Sahin strengthen the squad, and it was reported that Arsenal were days away from confirming a deal.
However, this all changed because of one reason. Despite agreeing the terms of a loan deal, Real Madrid and Arsenal could not agree over a £14m option to buy, and the whole deal fell through before Sahin then joined Liverpool on loan.
Did Arsenal dodge a bullet on Nuri Sahin in 2012?
Song and Van Persie departed, with Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud joining in 2012, and Arsenal eventually hit top form towards the end of the season.
Sahin was a disaster at Liverpool, and he returned to Dortmund, but never quite fulfilled his potential as a player. However, he since impressed in a coaching spell at Antalyaspor in Turkey, and has now been handed the top job at Dortmund, who lost the Champions League final to Real Madrid this season.
Whilst Arsenal did not miss out on too much by not completing a deal to sign Sahin in 2012, with Aaron Ramsey thriving alongside Arteta, who adjusted to a deeper midfield role, many may wonder how things could have turned out if Arsenal had two top managerial prospects in Sahin and Arteta at the club together after they retired.