Arsenal chose to sign Granit Xhaka after turning down a move for N'Golo Kante due to the size of agents' fees involved, according to The Athletic.
The north London club were interested in signing the Frenchman in the summer of 2016 when he was still a Leicester City player.
The midfielder had just helped deliver a historic Premier League title for the Foxes, but it was Chelsea who would go on to sign Kante for a fee of £32million.
A few weeks before Kante's move, Arsene Wenger's Arsenal had confirmed the signing of Borussia Moenchengladbach and Switzerland midfielder Xhaka for £35million.
However, the Swiss's move to Emirates Stadium only came after the Gunners pulled out of a deal for Kante, due to baulking at what they deemed excessive payment for the services of associated intermediaries.
And former Gunners transfer negotiator, Dick Law, hinted to The Athletic that a move for Kante was on the table until the plug was pulled by Arsenal.
A Football Leaks has subsequently revealed the two agents involved in Kante's transfer to west London pocketed a combined £10.6million, which even reportedly dissuaded Paris Saint-Germain from following up their interest.
Gregory Dakad received £6.4 million and Abdelkarim Douis went away with £4.2 million.
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