Transfer Centre

Dynamo Moscow rejected Arsenal bid for Aleksandr Kokorin

By Steven Toplis, Reporter | 09 October 2015

Dynamo Moscow boss Andrey Kobelev reveals that the club rejected loan bid from Arsenal for striker Aleksandr Kokorin during the summer.

Dynamo Moscow manager Andrey Kobelev has revealed that the club turned down a loan bid from Arsenal for striker Aleksandr Kokorin during the summer.

The 24-year-old Russia international had been linked with a switch to the Emirates Stadium, with reports suggesting that a deal was close to being done.

Kobelev has hinted that a transfer could have gone through had Arsenal attempted to sign Kokorin on a permanent basis.

"I was among those who vetoed this deal," he told Sovetsky Sport. "We think that a loan move to Arsenal is a wrong option for Kokorin. He deserves better. Everyone is laughing, but he has a great potential, and the best coaches in the world see it.

"The point is that if a club pays good money for you, you are given time for adaptation. If a club invests a small sum, he can be benched after a couple of games and returned to his mother club.

"For example, if [Gareth] Bale was loaned to Real Madrid he wouldn't have become the Bale he is now, because it took him time to fit into the system. Kokorin deserves to play at a decent club, and he has to move there as a fully developed player who can deliver results."

Kokorin has scored 39 goals in 87 appearances for Dynamo.