Manchester United were among the sides interested in sigining Declan Rice last summer but had to settle for Mason Mount after being priced out of a move.
Rice eventually joined Arsenal and the decision has paid off; he's now embroiled in a tight Premier League title race.
The midfielder has also become an integral member of Mikel Arteta's squad, playing over 45 times across competitions.
Mount, on the other hand, has spent most of the season injured. Even when he's playing, he's failed to make a strong impact consistently.
However, Erik ten Hag insists he's not perturbed by missing out on Rice.
"He [Rice] is a very good player and he would absolutely have fitted in here," explained the boss, quoted by Goal.
"But it is not I am not happy with Mason. This is what you are suggesting. I am very happy with Mason and he is also a very robust player.
"You see in his profile: he played in his last four seasons - this is the fifth - in the last four seasons he only had only a small (injury) issue at the end of his Chelsea career.
"Before that, he played almost all the games, three seasons after each other, with three days turnaround, he always played.
"It is really bad luck what happened and he is a really good player. We really missed him across the game, he absolutely could have had a contribution to our levels."
