Arsenal news: Riyad Mahrez admits he came close to joining the Gunners following discussions with Arsene Wenger
Foxes star claims it was a '50-50' that he would join the Gunners after firing Leicester to the Premier League title in the 2015/16 season
LEICESTER star Riyad Mahrez has revealed just how close he came to joining Arsenal.
The Algeria ace was heavily linked with a switch to the Gunners after he fired the Foxes to their shock Premier League title win in the 2015/16 season.
But despite numerous offers with the final one topping £35million, Mahrez eventually stayed at the club while seeing former team-mates N'Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater head to Chelsea.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, he reveals how it became a "50-50" whether he got his switch to north London and admits he still has time to get to the top.
After having discussions with Arsenal chief's transfer negotiator Dick Law and talks with boss Arsene Wenger he was asked why the move fell through.
He said: "I don't know what happened.
"It's football. You never know what will happen."
Mahrez hinted that he has aspirations to play at a higher level after Leicester were previously "blocking stuff."
He continued: "Yes, (there will be) no problem if something comes up.
"But behind the scenes they were blocking stuff — talking to clubs but just not wanting to sell me. I'm confident. Contract or no contract, I believe I will get to the top. When you have quality, and show it, there's no problem."
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Leicester were always going to struggle to keep hold of their title-winning stars after the heroic achievement but it was Kante's move to Chelsea that made the Foxes make a change with their player contracts.
Mahrez added: "N'Golo had a clause and when he left they stopped those clauses.
"They said they would never give one to anyone after that."