The agent of Lucas Torreira has suggested the midfielder would have joined Napoli, not Arsenal, this summer had Carlos Ancelotti been involved.

Torreira joined the Gunners in a £26.4million move from Sampdoria after an impressive season in Serie A and subsequent World Cup campaign with Uruguay.

Prior to his move to The Emirates, a number of other clubs were said to be interested in Torreira, including Napoli, who had opened talks with Sampdoria early in the summer but to no avail.

However Torreira’s agent, Pablo Bentacur, has now revealed that the 22-year-old may have chosen Napoli over Arsenal had new manager Carlo Ancelotti been involved in the negotiations.

Speaking on Naples-based radio station Radio CRC, Bentacur said: “It’s a pity, I’m sorry Ancelotti wasn’t there at the start of the negotiation.

“He’d have been a great help for Torreira, he has tremendous international experience. But then Lucas called me and he confirmed to me that negotiations with Arsenal were too advanced for any second thoughts.

“If Arsenal had collapsed then Napoli would have been perfect.

“In the end, the Gunners satisfied our demands and they even were willing to pay €5million more than his release clause. The Premier League? He is adapting well to the league and he is happy to be here with Arsenal.”