‘I’m surprised’: BBC pundit stunned Arsenal never signed ‘creative’ attacker who had a trial

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Indeed, the likes of Thomas Lemar, Kylian Mbappe and even Cristiano Ronaldo are all ‘nearly’ stories for Arsenal, while there are also a few high-profile stories of players who had trials at the north London club only to not be signed.

The likes of Yaya Toure and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were offered trial terms at Arsenal only to not be signed up, and there’s another talented player who has a similar sort of story.

He may not be a household name, but Tresor Mputu is one of the best African players you may never have heard of.

The BBC Match of The Day Africa Top 10 Podcast named Mputu as one of the best African players to never play in Europe, and according to Gabriel Zakuani, it’s a surprise that he ultimately never ended up at Arsenal after having a trial with the Gunners.

Mputu had a trial

Zakuani gave his verdict on the DR Congo star.

“He’s like you (Yaya Toure), you know you had a trial at Arsenal, he came to Arsenal on trial and he should’ve signed under Wenger. Yeah, he also had a trial at Arsenal, and I’m surprised they didn’t take him. Every time I went home and played for the national team, he was like the national hero. He was captain very young and the face of DR Congo,” Zakuani said.

Would’ve been interesting

Of course, we’re years on from Mputu getting his shot at Arsenal, but it’s impossible to look back on this as anything other than an interesting opportunity missed.

Mputu was seen as a wonderkid at one point, and while he never truly kicked on to become a superstar, with the right coaching and experiences, perhaps he could’ve been.

Of course, that pathway wasn’t as open in the mid-2000s as it is these days, and, ultimately, Mputu never got his shot in Europe.

The ‘creative’ attacker is a star in his home country, but he remains a relatively unknown player across the world, and perhaps that would’ve been different if he’d ended up at Arsenal.