Julien Laurens praises Kanté's incredible work ethic
Arsene Wenger said he tried to sign Kante twice but hinted the France international joined Chelsea for the money.
Kante left French club Caen for Leicester in a £5.6million deal in 2015 and then completed a £32m move to Chelsea last summer after winning the Premier League at the King Power Stadium.
But French journalist Julien Laurens has claimed Arsenal turned down the chance to sign Kante because they did not think he was good enough.
"Gilles Grimandi, the French scout for Arsenal, went to see him a lot. They just didn't think he had enough to make it in their team.
"And then [when they wanted him] it was too late because then they tried to sign him last summer and he decided to go to Chelsea.
"It's a weird one. I don't know why bigger clubs, and more clubs, weren't there [to sign him] when he was at Caen because it [his quality] was so obvious."
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N'Golo Kante is on course to win his second Premier League title in two years
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Wenger spoke about his failure to land Kante last month, with the 26-year-old on course to win his second successive title.
“Have I looked to sign Kante? Yes,” Wenger said.
“When he was in France and when he was at Leicester.
“I cannot explain everything [about why he preferred Chelsea] but it is quite obvious when you look at where he has gone.
“Was it the money? I do not want to talk about that. Transfers are transfers – you cannot explain absolutely everything.”