Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is angry to have missed out on Leicester City midfielder N'Golo Kante.

Frenchman Kante, 24 joined Claudio Ranieri's Foxes from Caen in a £5.6million deal last summer.

Wenger, who had Kante watched and had him earmarked as one for the future, said: “I was aware of him. If you look at his career, you'll be amazed.

“He joined JS Suresnes in Paris at the age of nine or ten, then went to Boulogne as an amateur. They didn't want to sign him as a pro, so he went to Caen and then finally to England.

“But everywhere he's been, he's always adapted to that level. I shouldn't be surprised really, because one of my best friends, who has known him since he was ten years old, spoke to me about him.

“We went to watch him and saw he had quality. But I didn't know he would come to England so quickly.''