The Gunners were given the opportunity to sign the striker on two separate occasions.
SEE ALSO: Mario Balotelli Liverpool deal on verge of completion.
With Mario Balotelli on the verge of competing a £16m transfer to Liverpool from AC Milan it has now emerged Arsenal twice had the opportunity to complete the deal themselves, according to the Daily Star.
It is understood that Arsene Wenger was given the chance to sign Balotelli for the Gunners on two separate occasions and chose to decline.
The first instance was during the 2014 World Cup, where the 24-year-old’s wage demands of £160,000-a-week saw Wenger refuse the deal flatly.
Later when the North London outfit completed their new sponsorship deal with Puma the sports manufacturer urged their new clients to consider Balotelli once again.
This time the striker had lowered his pay demands to £90,000-a-week, but once again Wenger said no as he was not convinced by the Italy international’s reliability.
Controversy has followed Balotelli throughout his career and during his two-and-a-half years with Manchester City the forward often found himself in the newspapers for all the wrong reasons.
This unruliness completely contradicts Wenger’s style and the 64-year-old is very stubborn when it comes to breaches of his own personal code of conduct.
As it is the Reds now look set to sign Balotelli themselves, with the transfer set to be completed after their Premier League clash with the attacker’s former club City on Monday night.
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