Arsenal transfer news: Arsene Wenger 'rejected' the chance to sign Manchester City defender Micah Richards

Richards completed a deadline day loan move to Fiorentina as Arsenal had already signed Calum Chambers

Micah Richards (Getty)

Arsenal rejected the chance to sign Manchester City defender Micah Richards in the summer as they instead elected to pursue the £16m signing of Calum Chambers, according to reports.

Richards has seen very little first-team football in recent years given his injury problems and both Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini’s preference to start Pablo Zabaleta at right-back.

The 26-year-old was in demand in the summer, and talkSPORT claim that Arsenal had the chance to sign the England international from their Premier League rivals, but chose to pursue other targets instead.

Richards would go on to complete a season-long loan move to Italian side Fiorentina in a deadline day move, and he could make his debut this weekend when La Viola face Genoa in the Serie A on Sunday.

City manager Manuel Pellegrini was prepared to let Richards leave the club, although whether he would have been willing to strengthen a Premier League rival is unknown as Richards ended up moving to Italy for the duration of the season.

The report comes after Richards told talkSPORT that he could have earned more money by staying in the Premier League with the reigning champions, but the allure of first-team football convinced him to make the switch where he could also compete in the Europa League.

Richards was spotted in Florence on deadline day (Getty Images)

In his first interview on Italian soil, Richards admitted that the move to another country was one that "excited" him and he couldn't wait to play in front of the passionate supporters.

“This was the most exciting project and fantastic fans,” Richard told Sky Italia.

“I had options between the Premier League and Serie A, but I chose Fiorentina because this was the most interesting project and the fans are fantastic.”