Borussia Dortmund Midfielder Reveals Arsenal Talks

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin admits he had the opportunity he had the chance to join Arsenal on more than one occasion after rejecting the Gunners for a move to Liverpool.

The 25-year-old opted to try his hand in the Premier League last season when he joined the Reds on a loan deal from Real Madrid, having failed to impose himself on the first team at the Bernabeu.

Despite a bright start for Brendan Rodgers' side, Sahin quickly fell down the pecking order as the midfielder himself voiced concerns that the Northern Irish manager was playing him out of his preferred position.

Having since returned to his first club Dortmund, Sahin is eager to show Arsene Wenger what he may have missed out on, after he chose a move to Anfield over the Emirates during the summer of 2012.

"It was very close," Sahin said of his potential move to the Gunners, UEFA's official website reports. "Three times in my career I was almost at Arsenal. It never happened, but that is normal in football.

"It was a good time for me to be part of a great club like Liverpool with such history and good team-mates. I think I was 16 the first time and then last summer we spoke with Arsenal, but in the end I signed with Liverpool."

After his aborted stint on Merseyside, Sahin returned to the Westfalenstadion where he will remain on loan until the end of the season. While injury and competition for first team places saw the Turkey international make just four appearances for the Los Blancos, he still played alongside the man he could line up against at the Emirates In Mesut Ozil.

"He is a great player and a good friend of mine," Sahin continued. "If you said he was the only player for Arsenal it would be disrespectful, but you can definitely say he is an important part of the team."