Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger expressed his admiration for Barcelona forward David Villa, while revealing he was close to signing Gareth Bale, in a move which would have brought the Welsh winger to the club along with Theo Walcott.
Arsenal have been linked with a move for Villa for quite a while now, with the story one of the biggest and longest in the January transfer window.
Speculation has been rife that the Gunners could move for Spain's record goalscorer in the summer, but Wenger, as he always does, chose to play down the move with several months still remaining before the transfer window reopens.
"I'm not on the case," Wenger told reporters when asked if he was close to completing a move for the Barcelona man. "I like the player but, at the moment, we have some immediate targets that are more important to us -- that means a win on Saturday (in the FA. Cup fifth round against Blackburn).
Bale is another one of those players in the bulging category, which includes the likes of Yaya Toure and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, where he could have been an Arsenal player if things had worked out.
"It was Walcott and Bale (at Southampton) and we were at some stage (considering) taking the two if possible," Wenger said. "We could get Walcott and I am very happy we got him.
"If I tell you the number of players we did not sign who we should have signed, you would be amazed. But it is the same for every single club, you miss players."
Walcott ended up signing for Arsenal in 2006, while Bale joined their North London rivals Spurs a year later.
While talk is rife about players coming in at the Emirates, there is also plenty of reports about a possible return for some of Arsenal's favorite son's including Thierry Henry. While Wenger ruled out a comeback in a playing capacity for the Arsenal legend, the manager said he would be open for Henry to return as a coach.
"As a player, I think it will be now a bit difficult because he goes to the end of his career," Wenger said. "As any other function, why not? I don't know what he wants to do.
"I believe at the moment, you want him to focus on his career as a player. When he has finished his career as a player, he can still decide what he wants to do.
"Eighty to 90 percent of the players I had here are intelligent and they know football. That means they have the attributes to be a coach.
"If they really want it, (if it is) the direction they want their life to take, that's down to them to decide and (to) let people assess your competence.
"You never know how people behave under pressure, when they are in the job every day. He has the qualities, of course."
