David Villa Reveals He Was '90% Certain' He Would Join Arsenal Under Arsene Wenger

​David Villa has revealed that he was '90% certain' that he would be signing for Arsenal before ultimately joining Atletico Madrid in 2013. 

The Gunners were heavily linked with a January move for the forward seven years ago, only for then-manager Arsene Wenger to claim that Barcelona has pulled out of the deal. 

Villa moved to Atleti six months later though he admitted his surprise that a move to the Emirates Stadium failed to materialise. 

"We were in a lot of meetings and a lot of calls," Villa told BBC Sport. "I felt 90% in that moment that I [would] go to Arsenal and Arsene Wenger.

"But in that moment we didn't arrive to the deal, Atletico Madrid arrived and in three or four days fixed everything.

"I don't know what would have happened if I'd signed for Arsenal. I'm very happy that I signed for Atletico Madrid, not just for winning the league but for everything. I'm very happy to have made that choice."

The 38-year-old retired from playing back in December after enjoying an illustrious career for both club and country. 

After establishing himself as a lethal goalscorer for Sporting Gijon and Real Zaragoza, Villa earned himself a move to Valencia in 2005. After helping Los Ches to a Copa del Rey triumph and scoring 129 goals in 225 games, the frontman was snapped up by Barça in 2010, where he amassed an incredible trophy haul in his three-season stay.

Spells at Atletico and Vissel Kobe followed while Villa also won the 2012 European Championships and 2010 World Cup with Vicente del Bosque's all-conquering Spain team.

Though his move to ​Arsenal fell through, Villa confessed that he had had other offers to join ​Premier League clubs in his career. 

​"I love the Premier League. In my career I always watched a lot of games in the Premier League," he said.

"I always thought about going there one time, but in the moment that all these offers arrived to me or to my agent, I made another decision. Why? I don't know."

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