Zimpapers Logo

LONDON.– Arsene Wenger has revealed Arsenal missed out on signing Angel Di Maria for nothing.
Argentinian superstar Di Maria (26) joins a long list of big names – including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Yaya Toure and Zlatan Ibrahimovic – who nearly joined the Gunners when they were youngsters.

Di Maria cost a British record £59,7 million when he moved from Real Madrid to Manchester United in the summer, but Wenger admitted they nearly got him when he was just 17.

But Wenger says the deal fell through because they could not get Di Maria a work permit – and they now face the same battle as they try to sign Villarreal’s Brazilian defender Gabriel Paulista.

Wenger now wants to open the floodgates to foreign imports by scrapping the work permit rule. –  Metro.

The Arsenal manager is keen to sign Paulista from Villarreal this month but the deal could be scuppered by red tape.

Asked for his solution to the work permit issue, Wenger said: “Ideally it would be to open it completely, anyone can come in.

“Because at the moment we are in a position where they force you to spend money on a player who sometimes you have identified. We had identified (Angel) Di Maria when he was 17. We saw him in an international competition and wanted him to come here.

“So he goes to Portugal, from Portugal he goes to Spain. Why? Because he could not get a work permit. That means you can only get him to England once he is worth a huge amount of money.

“What does it mean if he comes into the country anyway, just with a huge amount of money. That is the only difference. And who do you pay this huge amount of money to? A club like Real Madrid. They don’t need the money.”

Current work permit regulations state a player must have been involved in 75 percent of his country’s senior international matches over the last two years to qualify for a work permit.

Centre-back Paulista (24) has yet to be capped and does not hold a European passport, meaning his case is likely to be heard by an appeals panel.

But Wenger has gone against FA chairman Greg Dyke’s plan to tighten the work permit rules in a bid to boost the number of young English players fielded in the Premier League.

Wenger claims there are only two ways to the approach problem – let everyone in or only play with English players, something he feels would have a big effect on the global audience watching the top-flight.

The Gunners boss, whose side travel to Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round tomorrow, added: “The first is you close completely the borders of the country and you play only with English players.

“What will that do? That will kill the attractiveness of the Premier League worldwide. The second is to say, ‘Look we have the best league in the world, let’s produce the best players in the world’.

“This is a job where the competitive aspect is very important, the players all make big money and they have to be better than the others if you want to play in the best league in the world.

“Let’s open it completely. We live in a world where artificial protection is negative. I work on how can you improve the players. If you put a young player with top level players he has more chance to develop.

“If you put him with average players he has more chances to remain average. We have to accept that. That’s not the best way to develop the best players here.”

Work permit issues aside, Joel Campbell could hold the key to Arsenal’s pursuit of Paulista.

Villarreal are holding out for more than the £10 million offer the Gunners have put on the table.

But the Spanish side are interested in taking Campbell on loan and the Costa Rican could become a make-weight in the deal.

David Moyes is also an admirer and wanted Campbell at Real Sociedad but Starsport understands the player prefers Villarreal.

Meanwhile, Wenger has insisted that he will never change his footballing philosophy despite Arsenal’s win at Manchester City on Sunday.

Wenger set up his team to be defensive and disciplined which is in contrast to his normal more attack minded approach.

He said: “I go from being too romantic to too pragmatic. We knew that it was important for us to be a bit more cautious. We wanted to be a bit more reassured.

“Last year we conceded many goals in big games so maybe we were a bit more focused on defending well together. But it’s not the basics or philosophy of our game. That will always remain.

“We are not going to change our style. Of course we want to be defensively strong but we want to play.” – Metro.