Manchester United, even despite their illustrious standing in English football, have missed out on a number of top talents joining the Theatre of Dreams whether that be through other clubs poaching their wanted man before a move is finalised or the player in question outright rejecting the Red Devils.
Alan Shearer, Wesley Sneijder, Manuel Neuer and more have apparently rejected the opportunity to put on the Man United strip from years gone by, the Red Devils missing out on some exceptional footballers in the process.
It's not just reserved for high-profile names from the past however, with one star in particular bypassing a permanent stay at Old Trafford as a youngster to then rock up at the Emirates – a key player for Arsenal in the form of Gabriel Martinelli, now believed to be worth a staggering £130m per Football Observatory.
Did Man Utd come close to signing Gabriel Martinelli?
As a teenager, Arsenal's main man down the channels had trial spells at various mammoth clubs.
He would trial at Barcelona before the option to try out for Man United would come calling for the youngster, having four different spells with the club on a trial basis.
Speaking about that time in his life, the Brazilian told the Athletic: "My dad and I had watched the Premier League together, all the teams, like Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal and Leicester.
"I actually had four different trials at United when I was 13, 14, 15 and 16. This was in Manchester at the club’s training base. I met first-team players, like Zlatan (Ibrahimovic), Paul Pogba, Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra."
The Red Devils wouldn't keep Martinelli on, however, a rejection they will now regret.
Speaking about his early developmental years before joining Arsenal, Martinelli opened up about not feeling wanted whilst in Manchester.
He added: "There was never a moment, though, when they said they wanted me there. But it gave me a taste and made the adaptation a little easier because I had experienced football in England."
Martinelli would then return to his native Brazil before Arsenal swooped in for the winger at a cut-price, purchasing the then-unknown talent for only £6m from Ituano.
How good is Gabriel Martinelli now?
Described by SPORTbible editor Tom Marshall-Bailey as "incredible" for his achievements – propelling himself to stardom with the Gunners after playing fourth-tier Brazilian football – Martinelli is a key part of the Mikel Arteta jigsaw now in north London.
He was pivotal last time out for Arsenal before the International break beckoned, scoring a late deflected winner at the Emirates as Arsenal managed to topple Manchester City and win 1-0.
Still only 22 years of age, the Brazilian is now settled in the Premier League and playing week in and week out under the guidance of Arteta. To date, the young attacker has made 137 top-flight appearances for the Gunners.
His numbers from those starts make for good reading too, netting 34 goals and assisting a further 21. 21 of those overall contributions came during a mesmerising term in 2022/23.
It's led to Arsenal deploying Martinelli and Bukayo Saka down their respective wings to devastating effect, the north London outfit a joy to watch on their day flooding forward in attack courtesy of their two tricky forwards.
Whilst Arsenal struck gold with Martinelli and Saka developing into top talents, Man United have struggled to bring in wingers of the same calibre who can dazzle defenders with ease.
Costing Man United a jaw-dropping £82m – £76m more than Martinelli – in the summer of 2022, Antony has underwhelmed so far in a Red Devils jersey which makes the transfer fee feel more outrageous by the day.
He has only managed an unsatisfactory eight goals and three assists from 50 Premier League matches played, a poor return for a man who joined from Ajax with so much hype attached to him. Evidently, that electric nature that makes Martinelli such a red-hot proposition is not yet inside of his fellow Brazilian, who is also goalless in 2023/24.
The continuing failure surrounding Antony's move will hurt even more when those at Man United look back on what they could have had with Martinelli, the once rejected Man United triallist now a leading man for rivals Arsenal.
