Nemanja Vidic was desperate to join Arsenal before two poor performances for Serbia ended their interest in his services.
Former Gunners scout Goran Milosavljevic has told Tribalfootball that he spoke personally with Vidic about the club's interest in October 2005.
According to Milosavljevic, who had an association with the club as a Balkan scout from 2001 to 2017, Vidic's failure to impress former Arsenal scout Francis Cagigao in international matches against Spain and Bosnia and Herzegovina scuppered a move to north London.
"The first time I watched Vidic was against Italy," Milosavljevic told Tribalfootball in an exclusive interview.
"The national team coach Dejan Savicevic pushed younger players, including Vidic. And I watched him and said this boy has quality for Premier League.
"Four years later, I contacted him [when] he was playing at Spartak Moscow. He told me if I can sign for Arsenal I [will] run from Moscow to Arsenal. Because nobody called him for the English League, I was the first person to call.
"After this call in October, Arsenal sent a scout, Francis Cagigao, to watch Serbia vs. Spain. It was 0-0. After, he came to Belgrade to watch Serbia vs Bosnia Serbia win 1-0. Vidic got two yellow cards and after the game (the scout) tell me he didn't have quality for Arsenal. This wasn't enough for Arsenal.
"After I tried to push with my friend Arsene Wenger but Wenger trusted his scout and this scout was not positive about Vidic.
"I pushed for four months and nobody trusted me and he went to Manchester United."
Hindsight has been cruel on Arsenal given Vidic's legendary stint with United. After joining Spartak for £7m in January 2006, Vidic would go on to win five Premier League titles, the Champions League and three League Cups at Old Trafford. Over his eight year spell in Manchester, the Serb would play 300 games for United.
And Milosavljevic believes it was Arsenal's perception of players from the other side of the continent that ultimately cost them landing the formidable centre-back.
"I think the Arsenal scout thought players from continent go to England they need time to adapt because English league is very different, very fast and very strong," he added.
"I said he needed adaption for five months and Alex Ferguson pushed [him after] three months. And the scout from Arsenal called me because Vidic played one game [and] he make mistake and said 'I told you Vidic not have quality'. I said Vidic need five months and this was just after three months. This scout called me later and said 'Goran bravo with Vidic, he played really well."
