Toure, 28, arrived at City, who bought him from Barcelona, in a £24million deal in August 2010. The career of the Côte d’Ivoire UEFA Champions League winner could, though, have been so different.
Having impressed on a trial at Arsenal in 2003, when his brother Kolo was also at the club, he instead opted for a move to Metalurh Donetsk in Ukraine because of delays over international clearance.
Wenger recalled the then teenager’s first and only appearance for the Gunners against Barnet at Underhill gave little glimpses of the brilliant player he would one day become.
“I have known him since he was 15,” said the Arsenal manager, who takes his side to Premier League leaders City on Sunday.
“We had an agreement with Yaya to come here, but the problem was that he was at Beveren and we had to wait long enough for a European passport. Therefore he was impatient and went, at the time, to Metalurh Donetsk.
“Now he is a top-class player. We knew that at the time he would be a top-class player, but the only problem with Yaya was to fix him into a position because he can play everywhere.”
Wenger added: “He can play centre-back, as a second striker, as a midfielder and for a long time we didn’t know where to play him. He played in a pre-season game at Barnet [on 19 July 2003) as a second striker - and he was completely average on the day."
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