Moises Caicedo admits he was always holding out for a move to Chelsea despite interest from Arsenal.
The Ecuador international joined Chelsea in a £115 million deal from Brighton two years ago.
Arsenal, meanwhile, had multiple offers for Caicedo rejected by Brighton, including a bid of £70m.
Caicedo struggled to find consistent form in his first season at Chelsea but under Enzo Maresca, the 24-year-old has established himself as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Caicedo was asked about his decision to join Chelsea ahead of Arsenal in 2023.
Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
‘Everything happens for a reason,’ Caicedo said.
‘I almost did it but now I’m here and I’m so happy. The timing was good.
‘I waited until Chelsea came for me. People laughed. They said I chose the wrong place, but sometimes you need time to adapt to a big team. I needed that.
‘I want to give everything to this club because they didn’t doubt me. I chose Chelsea because they have ambitions. I want to win trophies – more trophies with this club.
‘I would like to be here for a long time. I want to keep playing like this but get even better. I want more trophies with this club.’
Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League match against Arsenal on Sunday, Maresca claimed that it is impossible to compare Caicedo with Declan Rice.
‘It was a little bit different time when I was at West Ham,’ said Maresca, who was an assistant to Manuel Pellegrini.
‘[Rice] was younger, I spent many extra sessions with Declan, one versus one, and you could see that he was already very good.
‘He was with second-team players as a central defender. Manuel Pellegrini decided to play him in the first team as a midfielder but [he] was different age compared to Moises. But you could see that he was already very, very good.
‘He’s [Rice] not playing as a holding midfielder, he’s playing forward, he’s playing like Enzo Fernandez. It’s a different position.
‘It’s evolution for him and it’s Mikel’s [Arteta] work. He is a fantastic player and he’s a complete player. He can defend, he can attack, he can do anything.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.