Another huge Arsenal miss - Granit Xhaka instead of N'Golo Kante

Man of the match in this year's Champions League finals and both legs of the semi-finals. For many - man of every match he is in, N’Golo Kante has cemented his place in the hearts of not just Chelsea supporters but every fan of the beautiful game.

Tireless worker, intelligent both in offence and especially in defence, worth at least two players extra on the pitch, Kante is on a journey that will potentially reward him will almost all trophies a football player can collect (depending on the continent and the competitions, of course).

Arsene Wenger said that 'he is a man who is above everybody else', Jamie Carragher stated that Kante will be 'one of the greatest players we’ve seen in the Premier League', while Joe Cole added that he played with Makelele who he thought was the best in that position until he saw N'Golo Kante.

His presence on the pitch changes the status of whichever team he is playing or has played for. Ever since he caught the spotlight in Leicester City, he has been incredibly important for the Foxes - and for Chelsea and the French national team as well since leaving King Power Stadium.

He left after winning the Premier League with Leicester, and then proceeded to help the Blues claim the title the following season.

However, it could have been a whole lot different - Arsenal were the frontrunners for the signature footballer of Malian descent before they pulled out of the move.

Chelsea paid Leicester a little less than 5 billion KSH for Kante in 2016 - now that amount looks like the greatest bargain ever.

Dick Law, former Arsenal transfer negotiator told The Athletic that a move for Kante was almost agreed but after agents’ fees got involved - the negotiations collapsed.

“When things reached an extreme, we tended to back away.” Law said, discussing the Kante deal.

Arsenal made an attempt to sign Kante even earlier - he was still playing for French side Caen, but back then Kante's name just did not resonate enough throughout Emirates offices.

Football Leaks investigated the whole situation and explained how the two agents involved in Kante’s transfer to Stamford Bridge collected a combined total of 15 million USD (1.6 billion KSH).

The amount was shared between Gregory Dakad (9 million USD) and Abdelkarim Douis (6 million USD).

Granit Xhaka (©AFP)

After deciding not to sign the Frenchman, the Gunners completed their move for Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach worth 50 million USD (5.3 billion KSH) and the rest was history.

At least for Chelsea.