I Wanted To Join Arsenal! – David Villa

I Wanted To Join Arsenal! – David Villa

As we approached the winter transfer window in December 2012, there were a host of strikers Arsenal were linked to as manager Arsene Wenger wanted to bolster his front line in January. As a result, David Villa, who was at Barcelona at that time, was one of the names heavily linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium.

As the January transfer window opened, the Gunners were quick to make their move and bid a respectable €12 million for him. Villa was not an automatic starter at the Nou Camp and was selected behind the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Messi and Pedro in attack for the Catalan giants. Therefore the 32-year old was looking to move away in search of regular playing time.


That is when Arsenal came knocking on the door, and Villa has revealed that he was excited with the prospect of playing his football in England. He has added that he was however not allowed to depart by Barcelona who blocked the move, citing reason that they needed him at the club till the season got over while promising that they will let him leave in the summer.

He spoke to Canal Plus show Espacio Reservado and ESPNFC report him as saying, “I was not playing so I let the club know that the best would be to leave,”

“There was an important offer from an English club. You all know that it was Arsenal. The offer was very good for the club, very good for me. But they did not think it was right for me to leave at that moment, they needed me.”

What followed was another six months of spending time on the bench for Villa, before sealing a cut-price €2.1 million move to Athletico Madrid. He has settled well at the Vicente Calderon and has helped Athletico keep up the pressure on former club Barcelona in the league, as they are both level on points at the summit.