Chelsea defender Gary Cahill has confessed that he was very close to joining Arsenal when he was at Bolton Wanderers.
The 31-year-old says Arsenal and his former club opened talks but negotiations never reached a stage where the player was contacted to decide on his future.
He eventually joined Chelsea during the 2012 winter transfer window, going on to becoming one of the key players in the heart of the Chelsea defence.
"The move broke down on the fee, nothing to do with me," Cahill told Goal.com.
"It never got down to whether or not I wanted to go there, it was between the two clubs. They showed interest, but they couldn't agree a fee.
"It seemed like it went on forever, there was speculation for about a year and a half.
"I had a fantastic time at Bolton, but as a player when you hear the big clubs are sniffing, you want to achieve as much as you can."
