David Villa, Isco & the ones that got away in January

1. David Villa

Arsenal pushed all month long to sign the Barcelona ace, but they eventually ran out of time as the stubborn Blaugrana refused to let their man leave.

The Gunners tabled a last-ditch bid for Spain's all-time record goalscorer on deadline day, however, the Liga table-toppers were unmoved.

Earlier in the week, Wenger had described his pessimism at the chances of sealing a late deal, but is confident that his squad will cope without the 31-year-old.

He said: "Barca do not want to sell David Villa. They've made that very clear. What's important is to buy players who can strengthen the squad. Otherwise, you do nothing. We have enough numbers, quality strikers."

Manchester City were also linked with a late bid as Mario Balotelli departed for AC Milan, but that did not materialise into a firm bid.

Friday, 1 February 2013 08:00