Mohamed Elneny says he only ended up at Arsenal because the club was scouting one of his teammates at Basel.
Elneny, 24, joined the Gunners in January to provide more depth in central midfield but said Arsene Wenger was originally interested in Basel centre-back Fabian Schar.
"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," the Mirror quotes Elneny as telling DMC Sports.
"He told me that Arsenal officials were scouting Fabian Schar in the first place, and that's when they noticed me."
Schar ended up joining Bundesliga club Hoffenheim instead but a move to Arsenal had been close for the Switzerland international, according to Elneny.
"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."
Elneny has made 13 appearances for Arsenal this season and started Saturday's 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford.