Saint-Etienne captain Loic Perrin knows he was on Arsenal's shortlist as their defensive signing for the winter transfer window and admits he would have found refusing the Gunners to be a tough job.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was scouring the transfer market for a central defender to sign this winter and eventually plumped for Brazilian Gabriel Paulista, snapping him up from La Liga outfit Villarreal, with Joel Campbell going the other way on loan.
News of the Gunners being keen on Perrin did surface and the defender himself confirmed that the north London giants were on his tail.
Now Perrin knows he was not at the top of Wenger's list.
"No, it was a while [since I heard from Arsenal]. There was serious contact through my agent. I think it was on a shortlist, but not at the top apparently!" Perrin told But Football Club.
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"A transfer in the transfer window is always complicated.
"But it would be hard to refuse Arsenal.
"I have always said that if I had to leave Saint-Etienne one day it would be a for a bigger club to play in the Champions League.
"A club like Arsenal, I don't think many players in Ligue 1 would turn down."
Perrin, club captain at Saint-Etienne, is considered an icon by Les Verts. Schooled in the club's youth system, the one-club man has made a total of 280 appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit, chipping in with 20 goals.
The 29-year-old's contract with Saint-Etienne runs until 2018.
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