Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has revealed that the club wanted Arsene Wenger as their manager in the 1990s.
Wenger's Arsenal side welcome Bayern to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Rummenigge has now claimed that the German giants were keen to bring Wenger to Bavaria when he was in charge of Monaco, but the Frenchman eventually chose to manage in Japan before joining the Gunners.
"In England, there are many good coaches and I like Arsene," he told the Daily Mail.
"We were very close in the 1990s to signing him. He was managing Monaco. We were in discussions to bring him to Munich, but he decided to go to Tokyo."
Wenger has been manager of Arsenal since 1996.
