Saint-Etienne were close to signing Matteo Guendouzi before he joined Arsenal earlier this summer.
The Gunners swooped to sign the midfielder from French Ligue 2 side Lorient, paying a fee of around £7m plus bonuses to take the 19-year-old to the Emirates Stadium.
But Arsenal almost missed out on Guendouzi as, according to Yahoo France, the midfielder was close to Saint-Etienne.
Les Verts were keen to land the teen midfielder and were close to completing the deal.
However, Arsenal came in late and Guendouzi quickly slipped through Saint-Etienne's grasp as the Gunners pressed the accelerator.
The midfielder has already made an impact under Unai Emery at Arsenal.
Former Paris Saint-Germain boss Emery is handing Guendouzi regular playing time and the midfielder has already been tipped for big things at the Emirates Stadium.
Guendouzi completed 56 minutes of Arsenal's 3-1 win over West Ham United on Saturday before being replaced by Lucas Torreira.
