Arsenal wanted to sign Hazard, reveals Wenger

Sep 29, 2012 2:30:00 PM

The Belgian could have moved to the Emirates, instead of Chelsea, with the Frenchman admitting he is an admirer of the 21-year-old who has impressed since his switch to England

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed he would have loved to have signed Eden Hazard for the Gunners.

The Belgium international was highly sought-after during the summer, before finally joining Chelsea and the Arsenal boss has admitted he wanted to capture the 21-year-old.

“Yes,’’ Wenger told The Telegraph when asked if he pursued Hazard. “The transfer price was fixed, because he had a clause, so everybody was at the same level.

“He has been voted best player of the French league for two consecutive years. You need some quality to do that at his age. I’m not surprised at all that he has gone to Chelsea, and straight away is one of their stars because everybody knew about him.

"Let’s not forget that all the big budgets in England were after him. We are not scared to spend the money, but we feel that even if we spend our money, with some clubs we can’t compete on certain players.”

Wenger believes the introduction of Hazard to the Chelsea side marks the beginning of a new era of creative, technical players at Stamford Bridge, a style he is looking forward to playing against.

“Chelsea have gone with a different style, they have rejuvenated because they bought some very young players with maybe a more technical style,’’ Wenger said.

“They have gone a little bit more creative. Until now it has worked well for them so it is a good challenge for us to beat them.”