Arsenal got “nowhere near” meeting West Brom’s asking price for Jonny Evans with a late window bid, Alan Pardew has revealed.
The Gunners remained in the market for a new centre-half right up until the January deadline.
Evans had been mooted as a target for some time, with Arsene Wenger eager to bring an experienced and proven Premier League performer onto his books.
Arsenal had, however, been warned against leaving it until the last minute to make an approach, but those words fell on deaf ears and when an offer was tabled – reported to have been around £12 million - it was swiftly deemed derisory and knocked back.