Birmingham City offered to make Illan Meslier No. 1 but couldn’t match Arsenal’s wages | OneFootball

Arsenal are set to bring Illan Meslier to the North London club to boost Mikel Arteta’s goalkeeping ranks after he left Leeds United.

The Frenchman is a free agent and was at the Gunners’ training ground on Tuesday prior to signing his contract with the Emirates Stadium club.

However, Birmingham City attempted to pip Arsenal to Meslier, offering to make him their new first-choice goalie, according to the Daily Mail.

The Championship club could not match the terms on offer at the Emirates, and the 26-year-old has opted to sign for the Gunners instead.

Playing in the Premier League and for the reigning league champions is also more appealing to Meslier.

The Frenchman also gets an opportunity to play in the Champions League and win major trophies.

He is desperate to get his career back on track after losing his place at Leeds and not making a single appearance last season after becoming third-choice goalie.

The soon-to-be Arsenal player is hoping a move to the Gunners reignites his career.

He is set to become the second-choice goalie behind David Raya as Kepa Arrizabalaga is exploring a move away this summer.

The Spaniard is available to leave if his £5 million clause is activated and is looking to become a first-choice goalie elsewhere.

Meslier too dreams of playing regularly going forward and could be on his way out of Arsenal after one or two seasons.

He was once tipped to become a France international after some fine performances under Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds.

However, he was dropped for the final seven matches of the 2024-25 season in favour of Karl Darlow and has not played since then.