“Just About To Sign With Arsenal” 5ft 11 Powerful Midfielder Confirms

Convinced of making the right career decision,  22-year-old Galatasaray midfielder, Jose Rodriguez has revealed that Arsenal wanted him at the Emirates but he turned them down in favour of Real Madrid.

In the summer of 2011, the Gunners tried to sign the midfielder but he decline Arsenal’s advanced and opted to remain with Los Blancos side, where he has spent most of his career.

However, the midfielder made a scanty four appearances in four seasons for Madrid with a loan spell at Deportivo last season, it is now understood that the player has penned down a long term agreement with Turkish outfit, Galatasaray.

When faced with the press, the midfielder told Goal that:

 “I was in London, just about to sign with Arsenal. But then, Real Madrid put faith in me, and I think things haven’t gone bad for me since then. 

“I made my debut with the first team, and I’m the youngest player in the Champions League [Rodriguez is Madrid’s youngest debutant in the European competition after replacing Kaka as a substitute against Ajax in 2012]. 

“The past is past. Maybe if I had chosen Arsenal, now I’d be playing there… or maybe not. I never thought about leaving Real Madrid until right now, because I was always happy. Now they haven’t put their faith in me, and that’s okay. They kept a re-buy option, and there’s hope.”

He further said:

“The Galatasaray transfer is a step ahead for my career, as I’ll be playing Champions League this season. It’s a big club. I had options in Spain, but I chose Galatasaray. 

There has been the general opinion the Gunners can make do with two more signings this window to make them more competitive, but their activities in the transfer market have been relatively quiet.