Ibra claims Arsenal snub -Striker reveals Wenger wanted to have a look at him on trial

Posted Monday, March 05, 2012 by skysports.com

Ibra claims Arsenal snub -Striker reveals Wenger wanted to have a look at him on trial
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: AC Milan striker claims he turned down the chance to earn a move to Arsenal

Zlatan Ibrahimovic claims he rejected the opportunity to earn a move to Arsenal after he was asked to impress on trial by Arsene Wenger.

Swedish striker Ibrahimovic was still with hometown club Malmo when he was invited to Arsenal by Wenger in 2000 to discuss a potential switch.

However, while the 30-year-old was impressed to have been handed an Arsenal shirt with his name on it, he was disappointed to be asked to prove himself.

"Arsene gave me the famous red and white jersey - the number nine shirt with Ibrahimovic on it and I was so pleased I even posed for a picture wearing it," Ibrahimovic told The Sun.

Fantastic moment

"It was a fantastic moment for me. Arsenal had a great team then and here was an Arsenal shirt made just for me.

"So then I waited for him to convince me that I should join Arsenal. But he didn't even try.

"He never actually made me a serious offer, it was more, 'I want to see how good you are, what kind of player you are. Have a trial'.

"I couldn't believe it. I was like, 'No way, Zlatan doesn't do auditions'.

"I thought 'You either know me or you don't and if you don't know me you can't really want me'."

Ibrahimovic instead chose to join Ajax, where he began a run of eight consecutive league crowns, a streak that took in spells at Juventus - where two titles were later revoked because of the Calciopoli scandal - Inter Milan, Barcelona and now AC Milan.

He also starred as Milan took a 4-0 lead in their Champions League tie against the Gunners last month, and scored a hat-trick on Saturday night against Palermo.

He added: "I definitely made the right choice."