Cape Town - Midfielder Mohamed Elneny has revealed how he joined Arsenal after impressing scouts who were actually in Switzerland to watch a team-mate.
The 24-year-old has impressed in his short time in the Premier League after joining from FC Basel in January.
But had the Gunners not been scouting Fabian Schar then a deal for the Egyptian international may not have occurred.
Speaking to DMC Sports, Elneny explained: "I was very happy when I joined Arsenal but I asked one of my friends how the negotiations started and if they had scouted me before.
"He told me that Arsenal officials were scouting Fabian Schar in the first place, and that's when they noticed me.
"All of us at Basel knew that Schar was linked with Arsenal and at every season's end, we congratulated him as the move was close to completion, according to Schar himself. But afterwards, things changed quickly.
"My agent told me that Arsenal officials came many times to watch Schar but they were impressed every time by my performances and development and they went on to sign me instead."
While Elneny joined Arsenal for roughly £7.4million, Swiss international centre-back Schar joined Bundesliga side Hoffenheim.