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Jadon Sancho landed at Wembley on Wednesday evening and, with the British media watching on with eagle-eyed intrigue, impressed in fleeting moments of devastating dynamism.

Missed opportunity

Naturally, Manchester City fans watching at home will have been looking on pondering what might have been, but Arsene Wenger ensured that feeling would extend to Arsenal supporters.

Indeed, the former Gunners boss appeared as a pundit on BeIN Sports for Tottenham Hotspur's clash with Borussia Dortmund and he revealed that he wanted to sign the 18-year-old during his time as manager in north London, as per Daily Mail.

'(Sancho's) is an incredible story because the pressure now on these young boys from an early age is very big.

'The second thing, is the pressure from all the clubs - I say that freely because I wanted to take him from Manchester City when he was not getting the games.

'I tried to lure him, because he was from London, I tried to get him to Arsenal.'

The supporters will be looking at Wenger's claim and thinking 'here we go again'. The Frenchman has made similar revelations before about a host of top players, but his latest admission is one which will resonate deeply with bitterly disappointed supporters.

Financial implications for Stan Kroenke

Not only will Wenger's admission represent a huge disappointment from a footballing perspective, but also from a financial one.

After scoring seven goals from 21 Bundesliga appearances this season - averaging at one goal for every 194 minutes of football played - Sancho has seen his value rise at an exponential rate.

On June 5th 2018, Sancho was valued at just £13.5 million by Transfermarkt; now his value stands at an eyewatering £63 million.

His development shows that if you sleep on an opportunity to sign a player of Sancho's potential, the financial implications can be huge.

In the modern economic climate it doesn't take long for players with pace, trickery and end product to skyrocket in value, and Arsenal's failure to translate their interest into a permanent deal will almost certainly force Kroenke to pay a premium price for a similar talent in the future - one which may well be beyond his financial capability.

If Arsenal want to compete on a level playing field with Europe's most prestigious clubs, they simply cannot afford to let another potential transfer target of Sancho's quality slip through the net while they remain available at an affordable price.