Arsene Wenger has revealed Arsenal tried to sign N'Golo Kante from Leicester City during the summer of 2016.
Wenger clammed up when he was asked for the detail on why Kante had preferred to join Chelsea from Leicester.
Chelsea have control of the Premier League in large part due to the role of Kante in midfield.
“Have I looked to sign Kante Yes. When he was in France and when he was at Leicester,” Wenger said. “I cannot explain everything [about why he preferred Chelsea] but it is quite obvious when you look at where he has gone. Was it the money? I do not want to talk about that. Transfers are transfers – you cannot explain absolutely everything.”
Kante is one of the world's best defensive midfielders.
“I feel Chelsea have found a better defensive balance since we beat then 3-0 at home in September,” Wenger said. “They are very good in transition. I watched their game against Liverpool and Kanté had a huge impact in their team.
“It’s no coincidence that they are in the position that they are and Leicester were in the position they were last season. Eden Hazard and Diego Costa have also come back to very strong form compared to last season, so Chelsea are very efficient when they go forward.
“It was a little bit of a wake-up call for them [at the Emirates Stadium] and [Antonio] Conte managed to change things in the right way. They benefit a little bit from the fact they are not in the Europa League or Champions League. They can prepare properly and if they want to change the system, they can work on it all week. That gave Conte time to prepare, to know the players better and that certainly helped. The integration of Kanté has had a huge impact.”