Arsene Wenger ruled out signing £21m player in 2015, now Arteta wants him at Arsenal

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Mikel Arteta’s latest target at Arsenal is reportedly Ilkay Gundogan, a player who was previously linked with Arsene Wenger’s Gunners before he joined Manchester City.

The German is one of the best midfielders in the world. He has been sensational for the Premier League champions since joining them for £21 million (Sky Sports) in 2016, and he’s still a wanted man.

City are desperate to keep hold of him, but Gundogan has been heavily linked with moves to both Barcelona and Arsenal. Arsene Wenger could’ve signed him years ago.

Arsene Wenger addressed Ilkay Gundogan to Arsenal rumours in 2015

Before moving to Manchester City, Ilkay Gundogan was a massive star in Germany at Borussia Dortmund.

He spent five years at the Westfalenstadion, played over 150 games, and helped Dortmund win five trophies. He even played a big part in leading them to the Champions League final in 2013, a game in which he scored.

A couple of years after that, Gundogan was heavily linked with a move away from Dortmund, and Wenger’s Arsenal were linked as one of the interested parties.

A journalist decided to ask Wenger if he really wanted to sign Gundogan. The legendary Frenchman publicly ruled it out in his press conference.

He said in January 2015, as per Arsenal.com: “He’s not a defender. At the moment we are more looking for the defensive department.”

Gundogan joined Manchester City just 18 months later. The rest, as they say, is history.

Mikel Arteta wants to sign him now

Arsenal are expected to be very active in this summer’s transfer window and midfield is the area they really have to strengthen.

Declan Rice is their priority target in the upcoming window, but they are looking at more than just the West Ham United star. Among all the other names linked is City’s Gundogan.

The German will be a free agent this summer. City are yet to tie him down to a new deal, and just as Mikel Arteta did with Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, he wants to bring Gundogan to the Emirates.

It will be interesting to see if that will happen in the next two months.