Aston Villa and Arsenal have much in common.

Unai Emery has managed both the Villans and the Gunners, while an Arsenal fan in Ollie Watkins leads the line at Villa Park.

There is another connection in the form of Morgan Sanson – who actually ignored a move to Arsenal before later sealing a £15m move to Aston Villa.

Morgan Sanson admits he could have moved to Arsenal

The Frenchman revealed that he had an offer from Arsenal during an interview with CARRE.

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Discussing his days at Montpellier – where he played from 2013 to 2017 – Sanson said: “My agent at the time, he called me and said, come to the office. He had written on the board, it said Paris, Lyon and Arsenal. He said to me, these are the clubs we have for you. So for me, it was crazy.”

Sanson eventually sealed a €12m (£10m) move to Marseille in January 2017 before his £15m switch to Aston Villa in January 2021 – but his time in the Midlands did not exactly go to plan.

The man born in Saint-Doulchard made just 21 Premier League appearances for the Villans...