Newcastle’s new boy Florian Thauvin has revealed that Arsene Wenger tried to sign him only a few seasons ago.

Arriving on Tyneside for a fee said to be around £12m from Marseille on a five-year contract, he has been one of many French players that Arsenal have been linked with over the years and it seems as if the interest in him was real and not just the figment of some sports journalist’s imagination.

Marseille's French midfielder Florian Thauvin controls the ball during the football match between Reims and Marseille on August 16, 2015 at the Auguste Delaune Stadium in Reims. AFP PHOTO / FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI
Marseille’s French midfielder Florian Thauvin controls the ball during the football match between Reims and Marseille on August 16, 2015 at the Auguste Delaune Stadium in Reims. AFP PHOTO / FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI

Speaking to the Chronicle, Thauvin said “Two or three seasons ago, Arsene Wenger perhaps made an approach with Arsenal, but apart from Arsenal, Newcastle are the only other club who have made an approach for me in the past.”

At just 22, it’s not hard to work out why Wenger was interested in the left-footer and you have to wonder if another move lies in the not-so-distant future for a player who is now already at his eighth club.