Arsene Wenger admits he
once tried to sign Didier Drogba.
Drogba has scored 30 goals for Chelsea this season - including a
double against Arsenal in the Carling Cup final.
The Ivory Coast international joined Chelsea from Marseille in a
£24million deal after working his way up through the French
leagues.
The Arsenal boss tracked Drogba's development earlier in his
career, but a firm deal never materialised.
"We were interested in him when he played in the French Second
Division with Le Mans, before he went to Guingamp," Wenger told
it's TV.
"We went to watch him when he played in Le Mans a couple of times.
But it did not happen at the time."
Drogba has been nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award,
along with Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo and Arsenal's Cesc
Fabregas.
Wenger added: "He (Drogba) has done extremely well because he is a
player who has come out very late and that means his motivation had
been tested before and he kept going in the lower leagues.
"That is a good education because when you come up there [the top
league], you do not give up any more and you know that to be in
there is a change you have to enjoy and that you have to give
everything because he knows what it is like to be down
there."