Arsenal scout Gilles Grimandi passed on the prospect of signing Liverpool star Sadio Mane, it has been revealed.

L'Equipe says Mane could have moved to Arsenal before joining Salzburg.

Mady Toure, who established the Generation Foot academy in Senegal where Mane emerged to join Metz, told the newspaper he contacted Grimandi about pacey forward.

But Toure claims Grimandi told him: “He replied that he was insufficient…like others."

Arsenal's loss has since turned into Liverpool's gain, with the Reds reaping the rewards of his development at Salzburg and then Southampton.