‘I spoke with Arsene Wenger’: Victor Osimhen admits rejecting Arsenal

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Lille striker Victor Osimhen has admitted he nearly joined Arsenal back in 2016, having even spoken to Arsene Wenger. 

The 21-year-old had just shined at the 2015 under-17 World Cup for Nigeria and a host of clubs across Europe were keen on bringing the Lagos native to the continent. 

However, as Osimhen explained to The Independent, he decided a move to VfL Wolfsburg was the best option for his career. 

“I spoke with Arsene Wenger after the tournament ended and he wanted me to come to Arsenal. I had a lot of options. Barcelona; Inter Milan; Atletico Madrid; Juventus and the rest.

“Arsenal was a good option but it wasn’t the best at the time. I wanted to start playing as soon as I turned 18. I wanted to go to a place where I had time to invest in my game and improve physically. Wolfsburg showed me that possibility.”

In the end, his time in Germany was disrupted by a bout of malaria. It was a loan move at Sporting Charleroi which turned his career around. From there, Osimhen ended up at Lille where he has been an unprecedented success. 

Now he is being linked with a summer move elsewhere. Back in December, it was reported by Sky Sports that the likes of Chelsea, Spurs, and Liverpool were all keen on the player.

As reported by Le10 Sport, Arsenal’s big-money move for former Lille player Nicolas Pepe has the French club confident of a €100 million (£87m) valuation on Osimhen, who has scored 18 goals in 38 games this season.  

Arsenal, however, should certainly keep tabs on the player, even if that price-tag is currently way too high. The Gunners are likely to face a battle to keep both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette this summer. 

Given the fact Arsenal have a good relationship with Lille after the negotiations for Pepe last summer, they could push themselves to the front of the queue for a player Wenger failed to convince four years ago.