Arsenal Enquired About Kante Before Signing Jorginho From Chelsea

• Midfielder Jorginho moved to Arsenal from Chelsea for £12 million in January
• The Blues cashed in on the player who had just six months left in his contract
• It has now emerged the Gunners inquired about another star before Jorginho

Arsenal signed Jorginho from Chelsea on the deadline day of the January transfer window, but it has now emerged the Gunners wanted another player from their rivals.

The North Londoners failed in their pursuit of Ecuadorian midfielder, Moises Caicedo to provide cover for Thomas Partey after Brighton rejected two bids up to £70 million.

The team also sent out Belgian midfielder, Albert Sambi Lokonga to Crystal Palace on loan, which made it imperative to bring in another player to help in their title quest.

Jorginho offered a wealth of experience to Arsenal, having been an active part of championship-winning squads for club and country in the five years since he had moved to England.

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Arsenal enquired about Kante

Recouping £12 mil for a 31-year-old player, who is set to leave for free at the end of the season, was good business for all parties involved in the deal.

It has now emerged the Brazilian-born Italian was not the Gunners' priority; it was one of his midfield partners who is also approaching the end of his contract in the summer.

According to Le Parisien, via Mirror UK, N'golo Kante was the player Arsenal first asked for but their request was turned down. Instead, the club took on the former Napoli midfielder when their request was turned down.

Sportskeeda reported that Frenchman returned to action as a substitute in the 2-0 loss to Aston Villa on April 1, after seven months out due to injury.

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This has raised questions about why the Gunners wanted an injured player as an immediate backup.

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta signed Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City in his search for experienced winners to help his young squad chase its first Premier League title since 2004.

Kante makes promise to teammates

Sports Brief previously reported on Kante promising his Chelsea teammates he would do a knee-slide celebration if he scored on his return to action against Everton.

Christian Pulisic, Ben Chilwell, and Mykhailo Mudryk reportedly cornered the 2018 World Cup winner and asked him to change from smiling after any goal is scored.

Kante's return to action eventually came against Aston Villa in Graham Potter's last game in charge, before making his first start under interim coach, Bruno Saltor, who also departed to make way for Frank Lampard.