I was on the phone with Xabi Alonso and he was desperate to join Arsenal – he was made for them.

There aren't many players who would be happy to snub Real Madrid, but Cesc Fabregas once suggested Xabi Alonso could have been one of them.

Xabi Alonso, the man who led Bayer Leverkusen to a title in an undefeated season as a coach, he was on the verge of leaving. Liverpool in 2009 but seemed keen to remain in the Premier League.

He had become an icon at Liverpool, but manager Rafa Benitez was looking to get rid of him.

The Gunners were linked with the midfield maestro over the summer and according to Fabregas, it could easily have happened.

Recalling the persecution, he said: Arsecast: “I was on the phone with Xabi all summer, he was dying to come, he literally begged everyone to go to Arsenal.

“He was very keen to come, I did the best I could, I spoke to whoever I needed to speak to, I gave my opinion, I thought he was a fantastic addition for us at that time.”

Instead of Alonso, Arsenal spent just £8m that summer on a defender. Thomas Vermaelen.

Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure were signed by Manchester City to further undermine the north London club's status as a Premier League contender, something that left Fabregas upset.

“On a couple of occasions like this I felt frustrated by the lack of drive, by the tightness of the deal, by the player who is dying to come, by how easy it is to close this deal,” he recalled.

“I am not a director, I see it from a player’s point of view. When I see it as a player who wants to go somewhere it is easy, normally it should happen and Xabi Alonso He was one of them.

“I remember talking to him all through the holidays, he was texting me saying ‘What’s going on?’, it was a shame because I think he would have been a great addition to that team. I think he was made for Arsenal.”

In the end, Alonso joined Real Madrid for £30m as part of a summer spending spree that included Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema join the club.

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At Real Madrid he won LaLiga, the Champions League and two Copa del Reys, while Fabregas left Arsenal for Barcelona in 2011.

Alonso subsequently worked under Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich between 2014 and 2016, with the Manchester City boss predicting his future as a top coach.

After retiring as a player, Alonso took charge of Real Sociedad's reserve team before being given the chance at Leverkusen in October 2022.

He overcame Bayern Munich and claimed the title he had dominated by taking Bayer from the bottom of the Bundesliga to the top.

In fact, his start to the season was the worst since 1979 and he finished last season breaking a European record with his 51 games unbeaten in all competitions during a single campaign.

Their only defeat came to Atalanta in the Europa League final, but they bounced back to win the German Cup to complete an unbeaten domestic league double.

He signed former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka and also Nathan Tella, Hale End graduate and will take his team to the Emirates to warm up for the new season.