Arsene Wenger has revealed that Arsenal had tried to snap up midfielder Paul Pogba from Manchester United, before the youngster joined Juventus, but the transfer was "complicated".
The France international left the Red Devils and signed for the Bianconeri as a free agent back in 2012 after being told by Sir Alex Ferguson that he was not going to feature prominently in the first team, with the Scot preferring academy product Tom Cleverley instead.
Wenger stated that the Gunners were keen on securing the services of Pogba when he decided to leave Old Trafford but added that Premier League rules did not allow them to contact the highly sought after midfielder's camp at that time.
"We were interested by Pogba when he was at Manchester [United]," Wenger pointed out.
"I was surprised to see Manchester let him go. We tried to get him, but it was complicated. We did not have the right to contact him."
Pogba's career has flourished ever since he leaft United. The 21-year-old won back-to-back Serie A titles with Juventus in his first two seasons in Italy, and is now one of the most crucial players in both the Bianconeri and the France national sides.
Meanwhile, Wenger also insisted that Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby is not injury prone, despite the player featuring in only 16 Premier League matches in the last four seasons.
Diaby has reportedly been ruled out for another three months with a hamstring issue. But the manager insists the 28-year-old is not "fragile" and claims his ankle has never been the same, after it suffered a fracture against Sunderland in 2006, when the player was tackled by Dan Smith.
"He's a player who was destroyed by competition, by a bad tackle, which has never been highlighted. He was tackled at Sunderland, six or seven years ago, a killer tackle from behind that was never punished and which changed the mobility of his ankle. People say he's a fragile player, he's not a fragile player," Wenger stressed.
"The main problem is that a footballer needs his ankle, and the mobility of his ankle. When the mobility of your ankle is reduced, you compensate for that in all your movements. That's what has caused Diaby's misfortune. He's a player who was destroyed by a bad challenge, and I hope he's now going to come back."
