Football News
Palacios: I could have moved to Arsenal
Wilson Palacios has revealed he could have been playing for Arsenal this season and is determined to prove Arsene Wenger wrong when he makes his debut for arch rivals Tottenham against Bolton on Saturday.
Palacios is ready to make a major impact for Tottenham following his £14m move from Wigan and has vowed to help the club move away from a relegation dogfight.
The Honduras international originally arrived in England back in August 2007 hoping to secure a dream move to Arsenal after Arsene Wenger invited him for a trial.
However, Wenger was overloaded with central midfield players at the time and instead steered him in Birmingham's direction.
Steve Bruce was impressed - so much so that he then took him to Wigan when he took over at the JJB Stadium - and Palacios has now established himself as one of the best midfielders in the top flight.
Palacios said: "I had a trial at Arsenal. Arsene Wenger had seen me and invited me there. It went OK but he had a surplus of midfielders at the time, so he recommended me to Steve Bruce at Birmingham.
"But I am extremely happy to have signed for Tottenham now. We know how good Spurs are and the quality of players they have. It's only a matter of time before they start moving up the league. The players who are about to arrive will start to make that happen."
Despite securing a big money move to London, Palacios is still haunted by the horrific kidnapping of his younger brother Edwin, 16, who was taken hostage in Honduras back in October 2007 by armed raiders - and has yet to be released.
Palacios admits he is in constant communication with his family to find out the latest news and needs to play football to take his mind off the horrific events which have affected his family.
Palacios added: "We are very much aware of what is happening and working on it. We are involved in what's happening back home.
"Everyone knows the situation I'm in and what we're going through, but we get through it through football and that is how I have got through it so far."