Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says defender Riccardo Calafiori was "ready to pack his bags" and join the club as soon as the pair spoke.
The versatile Italy defender, 22, signed from Bologna for a fee of up to £42m including add-ons, and quickly joined his team-mates in Philadelphia before a pre-season match against Liverpool on Wednesday.
Asked what impressed him most about Calafiori, Arteta said it was the Italian's willingness to join Arsenal amid potential competition from other clubs.
"It was great when I spoke to him one or two times and that was when I didn’t know if we could do it or not," he said at Philadelphia’s Union’s Subaru Park.