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“There Was Contact With Arsenal Over The Summer”
Everton midfielder Gareth Barry has claimed that Arsenal were in talks to sign him in the summer before he moved to Goodison Park.
There were a lot of rumours doing the rounds in the summer but I do recall reading about our supposed interest in the former Manchester City midfielder and I, like many Gunners fans, laughed it off at the time and begged it not to be true.
He eventually sealed a season long loan switch to Everton while we brought Mathieu Flamini back to the club on a free transfer, but it turns out there was an interest in bringing Barry to the Emirates.
The 32-year-old has revealed that he had contact with the club over the summer but it sounds like we opted to go for Flamini instead.
“There was contact with Arsenal over the summer,” said Barry.
“They were interested, but I think they went down the road with Flamini who was training with them, and I joined Everton instead.” [source: Mirror]
Barry has been doing an excellent job with Everton this season and has been ever-present at the heart of Roberto Martinez’s midfield alongside the youthful James McCarthy, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who is glad we went for Flamini. The Frenchman has been a superb addition to the squad and in my opinion, Barry is well past his best.
Are you glad we opted to sign Flamini over Barry?