Bordeaux’s Gaëtan Laborde has confirmed that Arsenal were one of the clubs to show interest in him earlier in the window.

FootMercato reported back in June that Arsenal had shown interest in the 23 year old, who has scored eight goals so far in this calendar year.

At the time there wasn’t much made of the rumours, which isn’t surprising given the interest in Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette, who ended up signing for the Gunners.

However, now Football365 (via SportWitness) are reporting quotes from the player that there really was interest from the North London club. Liverpool were another club linked with the player, and when asked whether the rumours were just paper talk, Laborde said: “No, there was real interest, but nothing official.”

The player seemed understandably happy about the interest, given the stature of the two clubs as two of the bigger teams in Europe, but he said that he understood that the interest never got as far as a formal bid for his services, telling Football365: “It’s true that it’s flattering. It adds to your confidence. It’s always good to be followed by clubs like that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asuT2O8xqfw

“They’re two big clubs, but to go as far as saying there were official bids… I don’t know anything more.”

Unfortunately for Laborde and Bordeaux, there will be no European match against the Gunners for the player to prove himself, as Bordeaux suffered a shock loss to Hungarian side Videoton in their Europa League qualifier.

Overall, Laborde managed six goals and five assists in the league in 36 appearances for Bordeaux last season. He found more success in the cup competitions, where he scored seven goals in just six appearances, outscoring his league tally in a sixth of the matches. He’ll be hoping to carry this form into the league next year, as Ligue 1 gets underway this weekend.