Report: Before getting Jorginho, Arsenal really tried to re-sign a ‘very good’ midfielder they sold in 2017

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Arsenal tried to sign Ismael Bennacer in January before they landed Jorginho from Chelsea.

It’s no secret that Arsenal were in the market for a new midfielder in January. They bid a massive amount of money for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo, while they would ultimately end up signing Jorginho from Chelsea.

However, before bringing Jorginho in, Arsenal looked into their black book of contacts and tried to get in touch with an old flame – Ismael Bennacer.

According to CalcioMercato, Arsenal made a real push for the midfielder in January.

The Algerian is currently starring for AC Milan over in Italy, but once upon a time he was on Arsenal’s books before he was sold in 2017.

Since then, Bennacer has made himself a star, and Arsenal appear to realise the mistake they made all those years ago.

Sadly though, their attempts to bring the ‘very good’ midfielder back to the Emirates were unsuccessful.

However, Mikel Arteta remains a fan of the player with this report stating that Bennacer has a number of characteristics that Arteta appreciates.

Arsenal are still in the market for a new midfielder this summer with Declan Rice being strongly linked with a move to the Emirates, but perhaps another move for Bennacer could be on the cards if they don’t end up winning the race for Rice.

Unfortunately, Arsenal did make a mistake back in 2017 when selling Bennacer, and their midfield depth issues could have been avoided completely if they didn’t let the Algerian leave all those years ago.

Arsenal also have a similar story with Yunus Musah who has been starring on the international stage and in Spain over the past 18 months.

It remains to be seen what Arsenal do this summer, but don’t be shocked if Bennacer is, once again, on their radar.