PSG has always attracted the attention of big foreign clubs for its young talents from the academy, even before Qatar’s arrival in 2011. Three years earlier, Arsenal had tried to sign a young PSG player, who admits he seriously considered leaving for the Gunners.
The events date back to the summer of 2008, when PSG was going through a very difficult period on the field and was nearing the end of its years before being bought by Qatar. The Paris club easily integrated promising young players from the academy into the first team, and one of them had caught Arsenal’s eye. It was Clement Chantome, the former PSG midfielder who was just 20 years old at the time.
“I had met Arsene Wenger several times”
Interviewed in L’EQUIPE in August 2024, Clement Chantome recalled Arsenal’s interest, revealing that he had considered moving to the English club: “A transfer that almost happened? It was to Arsenal in 2008. I met Arsene Wenger several times but Alain Cayzac (PSG president at the time) blocked the deal because I had just signed a nice contract. The prospect of playing there, knowing the number of French players who have succeeded there, certainly made me think, I would have liked to,” said Chantome, who eventually left PSG for the first time in the 2013-2014 season, joining Toulouse.
“I looked like a fool”
The former PSG midfielder shares an anecdote regarding this: “When I arrived in Toulouse, I had never left PSG. It was a Tuesday and we were playing against Monaco on Friday (0-0, August 23rd). At Louis-II, I was getting ready and realized I didn’t have my shoes. I asked the kit man where they were. And then, he told me that in Toulouse, players take care of their own shoes… I had to urgently go buy a pair. As a quiet and respectful player, I immediately came across as a fool and arrogant,” explains Clement Chantome.
/2026/02/24/le-crime-du-3-e-etage-699d74c4b7cac245021261.jpeg "The Crime on the 3rd Floor")
