Arsene Wenger says Tottenham must take credit for £5m Dele Alli deal and reveals Arsenal scouted star

Arsene Wenger has revealed Arsenal were keeping tabs on Dele Alli before he joined Tottenham.

On Sunday, Wenger will contest his 50th north London derby – having won on 22 occasions and lost just seven – against a Spurs side featuring Alli, who a number of managers have admitted regret at missing out on signing prior to Tottenham’s £5million swoop in February 2015.

The 67-year-old has previously revealed Arsenal were close to signing some of the world’s most celebrated players at a young age – Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi among them – and he confirmed Alli was another prospect the Gunners scouted.

“We watched him many, many times because we watched Milton Keynes a lot,” said Wenger. “He played at Milton Keynes. It’s down the road from here.

“You have to say that he has done extremely well, and he has developed very well into a very complete player. He is dangerous and scores goals - I think he’s scored 16 or 17 goals this year, so it’s absolutely marvellous at his age. They’ve done well to buy him and give him a chance. They deserve credit for that.”