Wenger: Why I said no to Yaya

Posted Saturday, December 17, 2011 by The Sun

Wenger: Why I said no to Yaya
AVERAGE FRIENDLY ... Yaya Toure

ARSENE WENGER was in no doubt Yaya Toure would make it big one day — despite an "average" performance for Arsenal as a youngster.

Toure, 28, is one of the highest-paid players at big-spending Manchester City, who bought him from Barcelona in a £24million deal in August 2010.

The Ivory Coast midfielder's career could have been so different though, having being on trial at the Gunners in 2003 when his brother Kolo was also at the club.

Wenger, whose side face City this weekend, recalled the then teenager's first and only appearance for the Gunners against Barnet in a friendly.

The Frenchman said: "I have known him since he was 15.

"We had an agreement with Yaya to come here but the problem was that we had to wait long enough for a European passport.

"Therefore he was impatient and went, at the time, to Metalurh Donetsk in Ukraine. Now he is a top-class player.

"We knew that at the time he would be a top-class player but the only problem with Yaya was to fix him into a position because he can play everywhere."

"He can play centre-back, as a second striker, as a midfielder and for a long time we didn't know where to play him.

"He played in a pre-season game at Barnet as a second striker — and he was completely average on the day."

The Gunners head to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday the back of an impressive run of seven wins from the last eight league games.

They have also qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League, where they will face AC Milan.

Roberto Mancini's expensively assembled squad — which includes former Gunners duo Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy — were beaten for the first time in the league this season when losing 2-1 at Chelsea on Monday night.

That followed on from their failure to reach the last 16 of the Champions League.

But Wenger expects nothing other than a "massive test" of his own squad's credentials.

He said: "They had two disappointments but they will want to respond.