Arsenal had a great squad back in the time. Their manager Arsene Wenger was very good at scouting players. He signed some of the best players in the world. Not only he signed superstars, he also created them. He signed them at young stage and made them great. One example of that which comes into mind is Cesc Fabregas. Gunners had very good French players in their squad over the years. Currently they have William Saliba who is their leader in defence. Clement Chantome who played most of his career at Paris Saint-Germain talked about his failed move to Premier League. He almost signed for Arsenal in his early career. However the deal failed to progress due to some reasons.
What caused the deal to fail
Chantome has been with Paris Saint-Germain since his young days. He came up in the first team through the PSG academy. He made his first team debut in 2006/07 season. After two years as a professional footballer, he caught eyes of Arsenal. Arsene Wenger was impressed with the midfielder and wanted to sign him in 2008. However, Chantome had just signed a new contract with PSG. As a result, he was not allowed to leave France. Chantome then played for PSG for a very long time and also won some prestigious titles. In the recent interview, he talked about his linking with Arsenal back in the time.
Firstly, Clement Chantome said that the transfer almost happened and referred to the one to Arsenal. He said that he met Arsene Wenger several times. However Alain Cayzac who was the PSG president at that time blocked the move. It was because Chantome had just signed a new good contract with PSG. Later, Chantome said that he wanted to move to Arsenal and would have liked if the deal progressed. It was mainly because of the number of French players who shone while playing for Arsenal.
Some of the greatest French players played for Arsenal back in the time. Players like Thierry Henry, Mikael Silvestre, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires, Emmanuel Petit and many more have already left their mark at The Emirates. Players younger than those in this list also followed their footsteps and have shone for the club. In addition, Arsene Wenger is French too which helped those players to be more comfortable to the environment. Chantome would have reached the new heights of his career if he was able to sign a contract with Arsenal back in the time.
The career of Clement Chantome
Chantome was born in Sens, France. He played for Savigny-le-Temple and Le Mee Sports before joining PSG in 2000. He impressed PSG in youth stages and earned his place in first team in 2006/07 season. By the end of 2006/07 season, Clemente had made 33 appearances in all competitions for PSG. Later, in the next season he was regular for the first two months. However, he was dropped but was able to claim back his spot in December 2007. A month later, he scored his first ever goal for French giants. He made 36 appearances in that season. He signed a contract extension in 2008 which resulted in PSG blocking his move to Arsenal.
Clement Chantome had another bad news coming his way. PSG signed Claude Makelele in 2008 who replaced Chantome in the starting lineup according to the Daily Cannon. Later, Chantome was able to earn back his place in the team. He was with PSG until 2015. He won two league titles, four domestic cups and one french super cup in his time with PSG. Chantome was sent on a loan in 2013/14 season to Toulouse. After leaving PSG, he played for Bordeaux for one season before playing for Rennes. Later he played for some lower ranked French teams. Chantome has only played one match for France national team. His career could have been different if he was allowed to join Arsenal back in the time.
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