Arsenal-linked Ligue 1 hitman admits to ‘dream’ of transfer amid hot streak

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A rising young striker currently firing his side to the summit of Ligue 1 this season has revealed he dreamt of a move to Arsenal.

Arsenal are enduring another difficult spell under the stewardship of boss Mikel Arteta.

A good run of results post-Christmas has given way to back-to-back defeats to Wolves and Aston Villa.

In the most recent loss, Arteta turned to veteran forwards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Willian from the bench to provide the breakthrough.

The pair failed to make an impact on proceedings, however, instead drawing criticism from one outspoken pundit.

A lack of cutting edge in the final third has hampered Arsenal all season. But being goalshy is not something that can be levelled at former Gunners target Jonathan David.

The Canadian striker, 21, had been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League last year, but ultimately settled on a switch to France with Lille.

After a slow start, David has notched five goals in his last five games, a run of form that has helped Lille ascend to the top of Ligue 1 ahead of Lyon and PSG.

Now, speaking to French outlet  L’Equipe (via Goal), David has revealed Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira were figures that inspired him to “dream” of one day playing for Arsenal.

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“European clubs made me dream,” said David.

“I watched Barca a lot, Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, with Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira. I might not have been ready in my head. But that was the only option, my goal from the start. I knew I had to make sacrifices.

“That’s when I met Nick Mavromaras, my agent, who had the contacts.”

 

David reveals reasoning behind Prem snub

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A host of Premier League clubs including Man Utd and Leeds were reported to have registered interest in the forward.

A move to France materialised, however, and David revealed his reasoning behind the decision.

“At the meeting with Luis Campos [Lille’s sporting director at the time], I liked his project,” he added. “It was a very young team, with a lot of ambition and there was the Champions League. I was going to play, continue my progress in a French-speaking environment, which was supposed to help my integration.

“Ligue 1 was a chance to grow at a big club at the top of the table. It was the right time to test myself.

“Gent wanted to keep me. It was tense, but my decision had already been taken. I had seen that Lille were ready fight to get me.”

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