Barton says was on brink of joining Arsenal

Former Newcastle rebel Joey Barton has revealed that he was considering a move to Arsenal before eventually joining QPR.

Barton claims he held talks with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger but says that his clash with Gervinho in the season’s opening match ended his hopes of a move to Emirates Stadium.
 
The controversial midfielder believes his hopes of becoming a Gunner were scuppered after he was involved in Gervinho’s sending-off.
 
Playing what turned out be his final home match for Newcastle last month, Barton dived to the ground after clashing with Arsenal’s new striker, who was shown a red card.
 
Midfielder Barton told BBC Sport: ‘‘If I hadn’t played against Arsenal on the first day, I may have signed for them. There were a couple of conversations (with Wenger) but that’s different to actually signing.
 
‘‘The Gervinho incident happened and there’s nothing I can do about it now. If it happened again, I’d like to think I’d deal with it differently. Things happen for a reason and there’s a lesson to be learned from it. Right now, we sit above Arsenal in the table - hopefully that’s the case in May.”
 
Barton was made available on a free transfer by Newcastle this summer after the player criticised the way the club was being run on Twitter.
 
He added: ‘‘There were a couple of offers on the table but now I’m really happy to be at QPR and in London. We play an expansive and exciting brand of football and can hopefully surprise a few people this season.’’
 

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