Granit Xhaka admits a call from Arsene Wenger convinced him about a move to Arsenal.
The Switzerland international has admitted a move from Borussia Monchengladbach had been on the cards for much longer than reported - with contact first made from Wenger a year ago.
"A year ago, I was nearly lost for words when he called me," Xhaka told Blick.
"He's a legend for me. I used to play with him as the manager on PlayStation back in the day and now he can coach me."
When asked about the details about his deal he said: "I signed last Friday [for] five years."
And when quizzed on his €40million price-tag [£30m] he confirmed that it was a 'huge sum' but he won't let the pressure get to him.
"This is a huge sum, as I said, that makes me proud," he added.
"That's a lot of money coming in now at Monchengladbach. Internally it hurt me to leave the club, but that's football. We were always honest to each other."