Former Swansea City star Jefferson Montero says he would have signed for Arsenal for free and revealed he spoke to former boss Arsene Wenger following the winger's appearance at the 2014 World Cup.
Montero was one of the standout performers at the tournament in Brazil and his displays caught the attention of Wenger, who was in the country doing punditry work for television.
And in the same summer he signed for Swansea, Montero has revealed he also to spoke to the north Londoners' manager, who sought him out for a chat.
"I remember so much that I didn't speak English well at the time and my team's assistant says to me: 'Arsene Wenger wants to talk to you'. I didn't understand anything (from Wenger)," Montero said on TV show Debate Fútbol this week.
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“We were talking and they translated for me. I was super nervous, because imagine the guy comes right up and says, 'I want to talk to Jefferson.' Wow! So far I get nervous. It didn't (the signing) happen, but the good thing is that he was there (close)”.
Montero joked: "I was going to Arsenal for free."
A deal could not be worked out and it never materialised, he said. "That was handled by the people who were working with me at the time," he concluded.
Arsenal's loss was Swansea's gain, and Montero moved to the Premier League regardless that summer. The Ecuadorian would return to haunt the Gunners and Wenger; in November of that year at a sodden Liberty Stadium, Montero terrorised full-back Calum Chambers in a display of individual brilliance unfortunately not seen enough from the winger.
He set up Bafetimbi Gomis' winner in what turned out to a be a record-breaking season for Swansea, who achieved their best-ever finish of eighth in the Premier League.
Montero's Swansea career however was one plagued by injury and inconsistency; he was loaned to Getafe, Emelec, West Brom and Birmingham City at stages during his Swansea stint and moved to Mexican side Queretaro permanently in 2021. He has recently been on the move again, penning a deal with 9 de Octubre in his homeland.
"I hope to do my best, my wish is to play and contribute to this great institution," Montero said earlier this month. The move is being financed via a sponsor, Kinet, a construction and maintenance company.
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