Roman Abramovich could have bought Arsenal instead of Chelsea but was mistakenly told club was not for sale

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was mistakenly discouraged from making an offer to buy Arsenal by a team of Swiss bankers.

The Russian oligarch, worth an estimated £9.5billion, instead decided to buy the Blues for £140m 16 years ago and, since then, has transformed them into a footballing powerhouse.

These revelations have come to light thanks to a new book, The Club, written by two writers from the Wall Street Journal.

According to The Sun, the American journalists conducted a series of interviews with executives from a number leading Premier League clubs.

Inside the book, it is claimed Abramovich hired Swiss bank UBS to examine the economics  of English top-flight football.

One of its findings was that ‘Arsenal were categorically not for sale’.

However, the book adds that former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein believed Gunners chiefs would have seriously considered a bid from Abramovich, but it never materialised allegedly due to the bank’s findings.

During the 52-year-old’s tenure at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have won the Premier League five times and captured a much-coveted Champions League trophy in 2012, as well as the Europa League and five FA Cups.