Gabriel Magalhaes has revealed the role Nicolas Pepe played in his decision to snub Everton in favour of a move to Arsenal.
Having spent three-and-a-half years with Lille, interest in the Brazilian defender was said to be extremely high with a number of clubs interested in bringing him to the Premier League.
In the end, it was the Gunners who won the race, landing Gabriel in a deal which could eventually reach £27million.
And that outlay is already reaping dividends with the 24-year-old building a formidable partnership with 2021 arrival Ben White.
But it could have been a different story for the centre-back, having gone as far as completing a medical ahead of a move to Everton.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Will Arsenal finish in the top four this season? Let us know in the comments
Gabriel admitted that he held talks with Goodison Park bosses, only for Pepe, who had made the move from Lille 12 months previous, to sell the idea of following him to north London.
“Lille is a big club, a club that sells a lot so I had to show myself,” he said in an interview with Colin Dicanot via Le Petit Lillois. “However, in the winter, before the championship ended, I was already supposed to sign for Everton. I passed my medical examination etc, but it was not done.
“I had already planned to leave after this season. I spoke with Napoli, Everton again, then I finally chose Arsenal thanks to Nicolas Pepe who sold me the club well.”
Gabriel wasted little time becoming a regular in the Premier League, but that wasn’t the case for his first foray in European football.
Having left Brazil aged 19, he admitted that he found the transition very difficult, with his time only improving once he learned the language.
“When I arrived in Lille in the winter of 2017, it was very difficult for me,” Gabriel explained. “I didn't speak the language, there were few Portuguese speakers (Rony Lopes and Eder) and I played with the reserve team.
“This period allowed me to learn a lot even if sometimes I wondered what I was doing here. I understood that I had arrived in another football.
“I spoke with Luis Campos quite regularly and he told me to take advantage of this period to think about the future and learn how to communicate correctly with my team-mates.”
With Gabriel and Ben White at the heart of Arsenal’s defence, they have conceded just 27 goals, with Gunners legend Lee Dixon comparing their partnership to some of the legendary duos seen at the club.
“They obviously have a long way to go, but we’re starting to talk about White and Gabriel in that partnership because the centre-back position is important and all about partnerships,” Dixon said last week.
I was lucky to play enough with two or three of the best in Martin Keown, Bould and Adams so I think that protection that they get from Partey and Xhaka is really valuable. We had Petit and Vieira in front of our back four, but again it is all about partnerships."
