Dutch winger Eljero Elia has revealed that Arsenal showed an interest in signing him before he joined Juventus.
Juventus' new signing reveals contact from Arsenal before signing
Dutch winger Eljero Elia has revealed that Arsenal showed an interest in signing him before he joined Juventus.
The 24-year-old moved to the Italian giants on deadline day but says there were a number of English clubs interested in him.
Elia has been playing in the Bundesliga for Hamburg after moving from FC Twente in 2009.
He told
www.onsoranje.nl: "My agent did have contact with Arsenal, but it took too long. I had no contact with Arsene Wenger.
"Wigan, Everton, Fulham and Newcastle had fairly concrete interest."
Galatasaray
The Holland international also turned down a move to Galatasaray and said: "Financially, it was a good option. I asked the coach what he thought of the idea of me playing in Turkey. He said I would be out of the view of the scouts.
"I value his opinion. The Dutch team is very important to me.
"That's partly why I chose Juventus, to get high-level play. He told me to go to England, but Italy was good too.
"I used to have a Del Peiro shirt; I was also a big fan of Fabrizio Ravanelli. It's great to play with a legend like Del Peiro."
