Former Arsenal star Nicolas Pepe has revealed that he signed for the Gunners' due to Unai Emery's gesture of talking to him in French.

The winger disclosed how it was Emery's act of speaking to him in his native tongue on an hour long phone call, despite the Spaniard not being fluent in the language, that convinced him that the manager was the man he wanted to play for. After impressing in France with Lille, Pepe struggled in the Premier League and eventually left north London.

However, Pepe opened up about how he could have signed for Napoli and had even spoken with then manager Carlo Ancelotti about making the switch to Southern Italy. Yet it was Emery's dulcet tones and his penchant for detail that convinced the Ivory Coast international that his future resided in England.

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Emery's skill as a smooth talker when it comes to luring transfer targets will be music to Villa fans' ears. Pepe also disclosed how the Spanish coach plunged into great detail about how he would fit in at his Arsenal set-up and discussed how the now Villa managers' charm offensive left him with no choice but to sign on the dotted line.

“I had a call with Carlo Ancelotti, who was Napoli coach at the time,” Pepe told The Athletic. “It lasted five minutes. Half an hour later, I received another call, this time from Unai Emery (Arsenal’s manager at the time). It lasted an hour.

“He told me exactly what he was looking for, everything he would expect from me if I joined Arsenal. He spoke about tactics, what he wanted from me, where he was going to play me, how I could expect to improve under him. Loads of detail.

"And although he’s not a great French speaker, he spoke to me in French for a whole hour. It was a small thing, but it impressed me. I felt his desire to work with me."

While Villa have been on a tough run in the Premier League of late, Emery has guided the club to a stunning maiden season in the Champions League so far where Villa have notched up three wins, including a famous victory against Bayern Munich. Despite domestic difficulties, Emery has the firm backing of his players who are eager to eulogise the ex-Sevilla managers' elite mentality.

Villa forward Morgan Rogers exclusively told Mirror Football that Emery was the reason he put pen to paper at Villa. Rogers, who has found himself as a key asset for Villa this season, opened up about how he had to earn the trust of his manager, but like Pepe, it was Emery's eye for a detail, and his desire, that assured the young forward that Villa was the right move.

“That’s why I signed. It wasn’t the club, it was the coach. When someone wants you like that, you go," Rogers said. “Unai didn’t love me at the start. That’s the way he manages, especially me. It was very much a case of tough love.

“He zeroed in on details he wanted me to improve upon and get better at. If he hadn’t, I’d have gone through the motions and it would have taken me longer to integrate."

The praise doesn't stop there. Villa youngster Lamare Bogarde has branded Unai Emery as a "football genius" and claims he is happy to play in any position for his manager. The young Dutchman has also pulled back the curtain on Emery's obsessive nature when it comes to the game.

"If I had to describe him, I think it would be 'football genius'," Bogarde said. "He is really crazy about the game. He analyses every match down to the second and is really obsessed with football. He knows what he is doing, and you can really see that. He makes everyone feel good."