Former Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe has revealed he was close to joining Napoli before joining the Gunners for €80m in 2019. But a phone call with Unai Emery convinced him to snub Carlo Ancelotti’s side at the time.
Pepe became Arsenal’s most expensive player of all time when he joined from Lille for €80m. Before being overtaken by Declan Rice, who joined from West Ham for €115m UFABET
Although he ended up at Arsenal, Pepe has revealed that he was in talks with Napoli at the time. But decided to join the Gunners instead of Ancelotti’s Napoli after speaking to Emery.
The fact that Emery was able to speak to Pepe for around an hour in his native tongue was a key factor in his decision to join the Gunners. As was the detail with which he described his project at Arsenal.
“I spoke on the phone with Carlo Ancelotti, who was the coach at Napoli at the time.” the current Villarreal forward told The Athletic.
“It took five minutes, half an hour later I had another call, this time from Unai Emery. It took about an hour.”
“He told me what he wanted, everything he would expect from me if I went to Arsenal. He talked about tactics, what he wanted from me. Where he would play me. How I expected to develop under him. So many details.”
“And even though he wasn’t a very good French speaker. He talked to me in French for an hour. It was a small thing. But it impressed me. I felt his desire to work with me.”