Alexis Sanchez came close to a move to Manchester United before signing for Barcelona from Udinese in 2011, according to the Daily Star.
The report claims then-manager Sir Alex Ferguson was a big fan of the Chilean and was keen to bring him to Old Trafford, but also faced competition from Manchester City for his signature.
The club even held talks with Udinese over signing Sanchez, which reportedly went well with the player also believed to be open to a move to the Red Devils.
However, Barcelona then entered the race with a huge bid plus the tantalising offer to play with Lionel Messi, which Sanchez was unable to turn down.
United then opted to sign Ashley Young while Sanchez went on to enjoy three successful years at Camp Nou, winning La Liga and the Club World Cup with the Catalan giants before signing for Arsenal.
Sanchez has gone on to become a huge star for Arsenal and a superb signing and will hopefully be fit to face Manchester United on Saturday at Old Trafford.
The forward had picked up an injury while on international duty with Chile but appeared to shrug it off in style with a two-goal match-winning display against Uruguay on Tuesday.
Manager Arsene Wenger has not confirmed he will be fit to face Jose Mourinho’s side but says Sanchez did text him after the Uruguay game to say he was in “good shape”.
Should Sanchez be fit it would represent a big boost for the Gunners, with the Chilean the club’s top scorer already with eight goals, and set to face a United side without the likes of Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling.