Joey Barton claims he held talks with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger before making move to QPR.
Rangers' captain says Gervinho incident cost him Emirates move
Joey Barton claims he held talks with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger before making a move to West London to join QPR.
The 29-year-old has admitted he might have joined the Gunners had he not got involved in Gervinho's sending-off on the opening day of the season whilst playing for his former club, Newcastle.
Barton went to ground after clashing with the Ivorian at St James' Park, where the latter was shown a red card.
And the QPR man believes that was a pivotal moment in Wenger's decision not to bring the midfielder to Emirates Stadium before the closure of the summer transfer window.
Conversations
He said: "If I hadn't played against Arsenal on the first day, I may have signed for them.
"There were a couple of conversations (with Wenger) but that's different to actually signing.
"The Gervinho incident happened and there's nothing I can do about it now.
"If it happened again, I'd like to think I'd deal with it differently.
"Things happen for a reason and there's a lesson to be learned from it. Right now, we sit above Arsenal in the table - hopefully that's the case in May."
He added: "There were a couple of offers on the table but now I'm really happy to be at QPR and in London.
"We play an expansive and exciting brand of football and can hopefully surprise a few people this season."
