Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been remarkably honest about his transfer business over the years.
Wenger has opened up on the attempted signings of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and many more over the years - but they fell short.
“You have to live with regret in life with unachieved business,” the Frenchman once said regarding some of the superstars who could have played - but didn’t - play for Arsenal
Here's a look at 10 superstars who almost signed for the Gunners but never quite came off.
Things could certainly have turned out very differently if some of these had come to fruition...
1) Cristiano Ronaldo
"The obvious player that comes to mind is Ronaldo," Wenger once admitted when asked about players Arsenal almost signed.
It must be the one which leaves Gunners fans wondering what could have been.
The future five-time Balon d’Or winner was close to joining Arsenal as a young prospect at Sporting Lisbon.
But a friendly against Manchester United saw him play a starring role and the rest is history.
"He was here with his mother and we were very close,” Wenger continued.
“Then Man United came in and they had Carlos Queiroz at the time, who was their coach. United played against Sporting Lisbon and Ronaldo was outstanding and they signed him.”
Arsenal fans aren’t the only ones wondering what could have been.
"You could imagine at the time what it would have been like to have Thierry Henry and Ronaldo together... That would certainly have changed a little bit the history of my stay here as well,” Wenger continued.
"Once we were at 4.5 million pounds, we were still in negotiations... so we were very close. But Man United went to 12 million pounds, which we could not afford at the time."
Ronaldo recently opened up about his meeting with Wenger, recalling: "I met with Arsene Wenger and was about to go to Arsenal.
“I talked to Barcelona , Real Madridand Inter too but after the friendly against Manchester United, who were already interested, they became even more interested and they sped up negotiations and signed me."
2) Lionel Messi
If missing out on Ronaldo wasn’t bad enough, Arsenal could have also had Lionel Messi in their ranks.
In reality, Wenger’s comments suggest a move was never likely to materialise - but things could have played out differently.
Rumours suggested Messi was once given an Arsenal shirt with his name on, which Wenger has denied, but talks did take place.
“We were in discussion with him when we bought Fabregas,” he said.
“You can realise sometimes what fantastic youth teams you had before when you’re a club like Barcelona.
“But in the same team: Messi, Pique and Fabregas.
“Pique and Fabregas came to England and Messi stayed in Spain.
“We were interested in him, yes. But he was untouchable at the time.”
If he was untouchable then, he’s certainly untouchable now. Unlucky, Arsene.
3) Jadon Sancho
Will wonderkid Jadon Sancho become the next global superstar like Ronaldo or Messi?
He already has one thing in common with the pair - he was an Arsene Wenger target as a teenager.
“I wanted to take him from Man City when he didn’t get the games,” Wenger said.
“I tried to lure him because he’s from London. I tried to get him to Arsenal.”
Wenger’s approach did not work - he has instead gone to Borussia Dortmund and emerged as one of the most highly-rated in the game.
Still, time is still on Arsenal’s side as they hope to one day see Sancho in red and white.
Wenger added: “He’s one of the best players of his generation. He can dribble, he has the arrogance.
“There’s something in there that is part of the big players. You can call it arrogance, confidence, belief; but it has to be there.”
4) Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Post picture in an Arsenal shirt? Check. Sign for Arsenal? Negative.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was close to becoming a Gunner - but a lack of faith in the Swedish youngster cost Wenger a huge signing.
"Arsene gave me the famous red and white jersey - the No 9 shirt with Ibrahimovic on it and I was so pleased I even posed for a picture wearing it,” Ibrahimovich recalled.
"It was a fantastic moment for me. Arsenal had a great team then and here was an Arsenal shirt made just for me.
“So then I waited for him to convince me that I should join Arsenal. But he didn't even try.
“He never actually made me a serious offer, it was more, 'I want to see how good you are, what kind of player you are. Have a trial'.
“I couldn't believe it. I was like, 'No way, Zlatan doesn't do auditions'.
"I thought 'You either know me or you don't and if you don't know me you can't really want me'."
When Wenger face his version of events, he explained: “He was here at 16 but he chose to go to Ajax, which was a big disappointment because I wanted to sign him as a youngster.
“I regret not being able to sign him very much because he is a very talented player and he has made a big reputation for himself within Europe as one of the best strikers of his type."
5) Paul Pogba
There’s a theme here - Wenger loves a young prospect.
The latest big name he attempted to take to Arsenal was Paul Pogba.
Unfortunately, the Frenchman had his heart set on Juventus , where he spent a strong spell before heading back to Manchester United.
“Things happened very quickly. We were interested in him,” Wenger said in 2014.
“We tried to get him to come here. But he very quickly signed for Juventus.”
Pogba could still be in the move again from Old Trafford, but a move down to north London seems unlikely.
6) Didier Drogba
Of all the players who Arsenal failed to sign, none came back to bite them as directly as Didier Drogba.
The powerhouse striker became a club legend down the road at Chelsea , scoring a host of crucial goals against the Gunners.
“I would have loved to have managed Didier Drogba for two reasons," Wenger previously said.
“I missed him when he played in France at Le Mans – not even in the top league. I knew he was good player there and I missed him.
“And secondly because he hurt us so much in big games that all this pain would not have happened.”
7) N'Golo Kante
N’Golo Kante was considered a remarkable find for Leicester when he arrived from France for a modest fee.
But he was also spotted by Arsenal, if Wenger is to be believed, and again the subject of interest before joining fellow Londoners Chelsea.
Asked at a press conference before taking on Kante at Chelsea, Wenger confirmed: “Have I looked to sign Kanté? Yes.
“When he was in France, and when he was at Leicester.”
8) Gianluigi Buffon
Arsene Wenger had a huge task early on at Arsenal - trying to replace David Seaman.
After the retirement of the former England stopper, he even had a coffee with Gianluigi Buffon, the then-Parma youngster tipped for the top.
"I remember when I was 20 years old in 1998, I had dinner once with Wenger,” Buffon recalled.
They weren’t the only Premier League club to target Buffon, with the Italian legend eventually joining Juventus.
“From what I know, there have been three serious times when English clubs made an approach for me," Buffon stated.
“Two of them were when I was a young player at Parma, and I know Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger asked about me – and then, when Manchester Citywas taken over, I know they approached Juventus.”
9) Yaya Toure
Perhaps the most well-known tale on the list - Yaya Toure’s infamous Arsenal trial.
The midfielder even played a game for Arsenal during his trial.
Wenger insists he did want to sign the future Barcelona and Manchester City maestro, opening up on the truth behind his brief stint in north London.
“Let's not forget that Yaya Toure had an agreement with us,” Wenger lamented. “And it's not because we did not want to sign him that he went to Ukraine.
“We needed to wait for his passport in Belgium. We have made mistakes but he is not a mistake, it's just the fact that he preferred to go to Metalurh Donetsk. He could go there without any passport.”
10) Luis Suarez
OK, this one might be a stretch considering the reaction it got.
But Arsenal’s bizarre pursuit of Luis Suarez could not be left off the list.
The Gunners launched a bid of £40,000,000.01 for the Uruguayan striker during the peak of his powers at Liverpool .
They mistakenly believed they could trigger a £40m release clause, leaving their Premier League rivals unimpressed.
“We had an agreement with the players and we had been wrongly advised that he had a clause (in his contract),” said Wenger.
Even more interesting, Wenger claims he was keen to ditch Anfield for the Emirates, eventually joining Barcelona.
“You can ask the player,” Wenger said. “He will confirm that he wanted to join us.
“Then they kept him one more year, improved his contract and promised to sell him to a club abroad.”