AC Milan signing Emil Roback: Hammarby had accepted Arsenal's offer | OneFootball

Swedish superkid Emil Roback admits choosing AC Milan ahead of an offer from Arsenal.

The teen was snapped up by Milan last month from Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Hammarby.

“Milan were tracking me, but I was all ready for a transfer to England and Arsenal, because I realised they really wanted to invest in me," Roback told Expressen.

“Bayern Munich were interested too, but in the end I followed my instinct and chose Milan, even if I knew Arsenal already had a deal in place with Hammarby.

“Once I arrived in Italy, it was all fantastic, I visited the training centre and spoke to Zlatan. Having him here is like a guarantee, he knew all about my situation and experienced it when he was young. He said it will be difficult at the start, but that I must be patient.

“I had my first senior team training session on September 1 and I was not anxious, not trembling, I felt confident. This club paid a pretty important price for me, so I can't go around thinking 'oh wow, I'm training with the first team.' It was important for me to prove myself.

“After the session, (coach Stefano) Pioli told me I'd done really well and praised me to some of the other players, too."