Arsenal supporters wondered what could have happened after the club let the opportunity to recruit Kvaratskhelia, considering more prudent to recruit a young hope of São Paulo. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Naples decided to attach the services of Kvaratskhelia to Rubin Kazan for just under 10 million pounds Sterling ($ 13 million). This calculated risk has since brought up.
Kvaratskhelia made his serie A debut, leading the Neapolitan attack and helping the club to win its first title of champion in more than three decades, alongside Victor Osimhen. His performances earned him the title of best serie A player A and the title of young player of the UEFA season in the Champions League. Tomasz Pasieczny, former Arsenal recruiter for Eastern Europe, revealed that the player was in the crosshairs of the Gunners long before his breakthrough in Italy. He finally joined PSG for 59 million pounds sterling in January 2025.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was in the crosshairs of the Gunners
Pasieczny told her first meeting with Kvaratskhelia during a youth tournament in Poland, where the Georgian team participated. Although his initial mission was to monitor the other players, he quickly fascinated for Kvaratskhelia and his teammate Zuriko Davitashvili.
In an interview with Weszlo.com, he said: “The Georgian youth team went to Poland for a qualification tournament. My job was to monitor the other teams, but when we saw them – Khvicha and Zuriko Davitashvili – we chatted for a long time with other recruiters to find out who was the best. Then, I observed them both in Russia, so I followed their evolution for a long time. »»
Pasieczny attended a match between Kazan and Dynamo Moscow where Kvaratskhelia had trouble getting out of the bench, visibly shaken by the negative reaction of the public following a few failed dribbles.
“He could not manage the situation. Each following action was bad, from start to finish. He got lost, the ball bounced on him, we saw that he had lost confidence “Added Pasieczny.
Kvaratskhelia at the Gunners?
“He overcome the situation, but if it had continued, it would have been problematic. Being influenced by a few thousand people in Kazan does not guarantee a good note … Everyone knew it would be excellent, but we wondered how much. Would he be the best or a little less good? Few were those who doubted that he would be nothing at all. However, at this stage, I had to describe the situation, draw conclusions, identify the problems. »»
Today, the decision not to recruit the Georgian winger appears all the more painful. A few days earlier, Kvaratskhelia had played a crucial role in the end of the Arsenal course in the Champions League, stressing the gap between what the Gunners had acquired and what they had let go. The attacker now aims to propel PSG to a historic hat -trick. Already crowned Ligue 1 champion, the French club remains in the running for the Champions League and the Coupe de France.
