A report in the Metro suggests Arsenal almost signed Lionel Messi in his early career, before the club found it difficult to finalise a visa to England, and instead signed Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona.

The Gunners have been struggling to secure a star striker ever since the departure of Robin van Persie to Manchester United. Players like Nicklas Bendtner and Yaya Sanogo have failed to rise up to the big stage and score goals on a regular basis. However, the stroke of bad luck ended for Arsene Wenger, as they signed Danny Welbeck from United this past summer. The England international has already scored his first hat-trick for the club in the Champions League against Galatasaray, but could not deliver a big role against Chelsea on Sunday when the club took on Jose Mourinho’s side at Stamford Bridge.

Barcelona are known to have shown tremendous support to young Messi in his youth days, and were well aware of his talent. Having said that, young Messi did accept a move to Arsenal when the opportunity came along, but the visa documentation was an issue for the Argentine. The unprecedented delays meant the club gave up on signing Messi, who is undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all time. The 27-year old has scored 248 league goals for the Catalans in just 283 appearances, while his contributions continue in the national team.