Arsenal's latest signing Petr Cech has revealed how he came close to joining for the Gunners when he was a teenager.

The move failed to materialize for the Chelsea legend back when he was '18 or 19' and he eventually ended up at Stamford Bridge after brief stints at Sparta Prague and French club Rennes.

Speaking with Arsenal Player, Cech said: "There was a chance before I went to France that I could sign for Arsenal but I was only 18 or 19 and at that time Czech Republic were not in the European Union.

"You needed a work permit and the conditions were to play 75 per cent of the first-team games for the national team, which at the time was impossible for me to get. In the end I went to France because I couldn't get a work permit.

"I had a few teams who were interested but Arsenal was one of the main ones. I was so excited because of the Premier League and big clubs but unfortunately it was not the time for me to come.

"It was later with Chelsea, and I'm obviously grateful for that, but you can never prepare the ways in your life and you'll never know where you'll end up. So here we are."