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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.

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