The Gunners are keen on a double deal for Di Maria and Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema this summer but they could have signed the Portuguese as a 19-year-old from hometown club Rosario Central.
"I don't know exactly what happened with my proposed transfer to Arsenal," the then 21-year-old Di Maria told a Portuguese newspaper in 2009.
"From what Ive been told, the transfer money that was supposed to appear, never appeared.
"Benfica heard about the problem, showed an interest in me and quickly hired me.
"I do not regret joining one of the top three teams in Portugal. But I am sure that Arsene Wenger would have had a lot to teach me."
Di Maria joined Benfica for around €8m instead and went on to impress in three seasons at the Estadio Da Luz, earning a €35m switch to Real in 2010.
But the imminent arrival of Tottenham's Gareth Bale at the Santiago Bernabeu could see Di Maria surplus to requirements in the Spanish capital.
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