After a superb showing against the Gunners on Saturday, Sunderland midfielder Yann M'Vila has laughed off comments from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger that he once tried to sign the Frenchman.
Past hopes
In Arsenal's pre-match programme notes at the weekend, Wenger's words made for interesting reading for M'Vila as the manager claimed he once tried to sign him during his spell at Rennes.
With the pair chatting in the tunnel post game, rumors have already begun to circulate about the future of the player, who is on loan in Wearside from Rubin Kazan, too.
For Wenger, wanting to sign players and coming close to doing so is something that is becoming a bit of a habit, with the manager having claimed that the likes of Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure were once targets for the London club, and now it seems M'Villa is the next to join the ever growing list.
M'Vila was one of the best players on the pitch for either club during the Gunners 3-1 victory, making it all the more interesting when Wenger confirmed that the club "were interested in him when he was in France," with the only stumbling block coming from his parent club at the time, as "Rennes did not want to sell him."
The midfielder admitted he, "read the comments" and that it was "obviously nice," but he didn't want to dwell on history too much either, saying, "that was the past. This is now,” with now consisting of a crucial relegation battle.
Remaining Positive
Even though the Black Cats couldn't manage to get a result at the weekend, M'Vila believes that they, "had the opportunity to get a good result," and "even to win," however, they "couldn’t take the chances."
This shows the positivity that is being maintained during the winter period at Sunderland, despite the fact that the club remain in the relegation zone and fellow strugglers, Newcastle United and Bournemouth, both secured three points at the weekend.
He also credited Sam Allardyce for bringing a better mentality to the club, saying that, "it’s getting better all the time," as is the "confidence" that the players have, which is exactly what the club are going to need to survive yet another battle at the bottom of the table.
Despite the set back with the defeat to the title challengers, M'Vila is confident that if the team "play like that" more, then they will "get more important results," something that they will be hoping to do starting in their next game, against Watford.