Wenger Lost Out On Defender Target In Face Of Italian Offer

Montpellier defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa has admitted that he turned down an offer from Arsenal in the face of a possible move to AC Milan, with the fee being the sticking point in the agreement to move to Italy falling through.

As there are many stories of players sealing their dream moves in the transfer window, equally many targets fall through, and Yanga-Mbiwa is still getting used to the fact that he was unable to come to an agreement with the Serie A giants for a deal.

In the face of an offer from Arsenal, he said no to go for what he says was his ideal destination, but a disagreement over fees led to talks falling through.

"The chairman said I could go and I was ready to pack my suitcases," he said, as reported by Metro.

"AC Milan came for me but the chairman turned down the [£4.8million] offer. From then on, I knew that it [a transfer] would be difficult.

"Arsenal made an offer, but I had already moved on. I was disappointed when I realised that things would not happen with Milan. I didn't want to get involved in something complicated again."

Yanga-Mbiwa, who has been selected for the France side's match-ups with Finland and Belarus this weekend, has now had to settle back into life at Montpellier, who finished at the top of the Ligue 1 table last season and will compete in the Champions League.

Arsenal completed a lot of their transfer dealings early on in the window, securing Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud as the summer was only beginning.

Deadline day was eerily quiet for the north London squad, despite Arsene Wenger saying on the night before that he was hopeful of adding another addition to the squad.

Yanga-Mbiwa would have fitted well into Wenger's transfer policy, with the Frenchman often recruiting from his home country.