Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery was keen on signing Manchester United defender Harry Maguire for the Gunners last summer.

Maguire joined Manchester United before the start of the new season for a record fee of £80m for a defender from Leicester City.  

 



Manchester United managed to beat off competition from Manchester City, who were not willing to pay what they felt was over the odds for the England centre-back.

But according to The Athletic, Maguire was also on Arsenal’s radar going into the end of last season, with Emery championing his possible arrival at the Emirates.
 


The former Arsenal boss was a big fan of the England international’s defensive capabilities and his ability to play out from the back.



Arsenal were also convinced that Leicester would sell for the right price, but their failure to confirm Champions League football this season ended their hopes of signing him.

The Gunners were not in a position to put in the big money bid that was required to sign Maguire in the summer.
 

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Arsenal also had an interest in Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey but did not want to commit the funds to trigger his €50m release clause.

Emery also wanted Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha, but eventually, Arsenal paid out a club record €80m fee for Nicolas Pepe.