Diarra rebuffed Blues

Chelsea wanted Frenchman to sign new deal

By Patrick Haond   Last updated: 3rd September 2007   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Diarra rebuffed Blues

Diarra: Delight at move

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Lassana Diarra claims Chelsea thought he would cave in and sign a new contract at Stamford Bridge before finally agreeing to sell him to Arsenal.

The French midfielder left The Blues on transfer deadline day for an undisclosed fee after rejecting numerous offers to extend his contract, which was due to expire at the end of the season.

"Honestly, I believe the Chelsea officials thought I would crack and finally accept a contract extension, as my contract would have been up in 2008," Diarra told L'Equipe.

"But I refused every extension and now I have signed a three-year deal with The Gunners. Chelsea finally accepted, maybe because they were scared I would leave for free in one year."

Diarra has revealed that he only learned a move to Arsenal was in the pipeline one hour before the transfer window closed, but was delighted when his switch to Emirates Stadium was completed.

The 22-year-old is rumoured to have been interesting Tottenham, Portsmouth, Newcastle and Lyon, though Arsenal were the only club he wanted to leave Chelsea for.

"At 11pm on Friday night, I got a phone call to tell me I could start to negotiate with Arsenal as both clubs had found an agreement," he said.

"I didn't hesitate because Arsenal was the only club I wanted to join. It was Arsenal or nothing. Other teams contacted me, but I knew what I wanted. Chelsea knew I wanted to join The Gunners."