New Arsenal signing Mikael Silvestre admits he turned down a return to France to move to London from Manchester United.

He said: "I spoke with (Bordeaux coach) Laurent Blanc. There were nevertheless some problems agreeing financial terms. However, I did not speak with Paul Le Guen. The contacts with PSG go back several weeks and I liked the project.

"But I saw that the priority of the leaders in Paris was to recruit in attack, then Arsenal has arrived ..."