Mikel Arteta reveals Xabi Alonso convinced him to sign £45m Arsenal star

Mikel Arteta has revealed how Xabi Alonso helped convince him to sign Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie.

The Gunners beat north London rivals Tottenham to a deal for Bayer Leverkusen star Hincapie last summer.

While Arsenal signed Hincapie on a season-long loan, they had the option of making his stay permanent this summer for £45m.

Arteta was also planning to keep Hincapie beyond the current campaign and has been impressed by the 24-year-old Ecuador international’s first season at the Emirates Stadium.

While not a guaranteed starter, Hincapie has been a reliable presence for the Gunners, helping them open up a healthy gap at the top of the Premier League and go deep in the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Hincapie will return to his former club Leverkusen on Wednesday evening when Arsenal face the Bundesliga side in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie.

Arteta heaped praise on Hincapie ahead of that game and revealed he spoke to former Bayer Leverkusen boss Alonso before sanctioning the transfer.

Speaking to TNT Sports, Arteta said: ‘When I spoke to Xabi just before we were going to sign him, I said if you have to describe him in one word, what would you use, and he said, “He’s a warrior.”

‘He will play through brick walls for you and he’s one of the most competitive players that I have had.

‘He’s come into the Premier League after surgery and a difficult start without a pre-season, and when you see him around his team-mates and competing on the pitch, it’s like he’s been here for 10 years.

‘He has an aura, a charisma – a really special character.’

Hincapie is not the only former Bayer Leverkusen player who will feature in Arsenal’s squad in the Champions League.

Kai Havertz started out at the German club before joining Chelsea in 2023 and then moving to London rivals Arsenal three years later.

‘It’s impossible not to love Kai,’ Arteta added. ‘He’s so kind, so humble, so honest, so hard-working.

‘When you meet his family, you understand straight away how he’s been raised and what is important to him in life.

‘I know Kai in the very best moments and Kai in the low moments as well, especially when a player picks up an injury, when you see the real person.

‘It’s very difficult to find a better person than Kai in football.’

Arsenal will be expected to prove too strong for Bayer Leverkusen as one of the favourites to win the Champions League.

Ex-Manchester City and England defender Micah Richards has named Arsenal as his ‘favourite’ to win the competition.

‘I think Arsenal are the favourites for the Champions League because I think it will suit them more than the domestic games,’ he said on The Rest is Football podcast.

‘In the Champions League the games might get a little bit more stretched whereas in the Premier League everyone is going to that low block against them.

‘I thought Man City would have the capabilities to break teams down more than Arsenal in the Premier League but it’s not working out like that.

‘Arsenal are getting some criticism but if they win the league, who cares how they do it? The objective is to win trophies and it’s as simple as that.’

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