France international midfielder Adrien Rabiot wanted a Premier League move this summer amid interest from Arsenal and other suitors, according to French journalist Romain Molina.
However, the 29-year-old is set to join Olympique Marseille after the Gunners moved on to other targets, signing Spain international midfielder Mikel Merino in a €37 million deal.
Manchester United opted for Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain, and the options that appealed to Rabiot dwindled afterwards, and he eventually settled for a return to the French top-flight league.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wanted to bolster his options in the middle of the park and eventually opted for Merino.
Rabiot won five Ligue 1 titles with Paris Saint-Germain and one Serie A title with Juventus, and he boasts much-needed experience at the top level.
He would have been a fine addition to the Gunners midfield but the North London club had other ideas and will hope Merino proves to be the perfect signing.
The 28-year-old is currently injured having fractured his shoulder after a collision with Gabriel Magalhaes in his first training session, and he is expected to return to action next month.
Arsenal were further dealt a massive blow in midfield ahead of their North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, with Declan Rice suspended while Martin Odegaard and Oleksandr Zinchenko were out injured.
It could have left Arteta wishing he had signed Rabiot too despite the arrival of Merino, but the Spaniard had no room for another midfield addition after signing the Euro 2024 winner, bringing in England international attacker Raheem Sterling on loan from Chelsea in the end.
Arsenal are back in action on Thursday with a trip to Italy to face Atalanta in their first Champions League game of 2024-25 before playing Manchester City at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Arteta will be hoping for some good news from the treatment room as he could do with his injured stars for those two huge games.
