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  "path": "/2026/05/17/new-chelsea-boss-xabi-alonso-convinced-mikel-arteta-sign-45m-arsenal-star-28404743/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-17T09:12:07.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "Football",
    "Sport",
    "Arsenal",
    "Arsenal transfer news",
    "Bayer Leverkusen",
    "Champions League",
    "Chelsea FC",
    "Chelsea transfer news",
    "Mikel Arteta",
    "Piero Hincapie",
    "Premier League",
    "Real Madrid",
    "Real Madrid transfer news",
    "Transfer News and Rumours",
    "Xabi Alonso",
    "Tottenham",
    "deal for Bayer Leverkusen star Hincapie last summer",
    "option of making his stay permanent this summer for £45m",
    "sign up here",
    "Bundesliga side in the Champions League knockout stages",
    "appointed as the manager of Arsenal’s London rivals Chelsea on a four-year deal",
    "TNT Sports",
    "Kai Havertz",
    "sacking Liam Rosenior last month",
    "check our sport page",
    "Facebook",
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  "textContent": "Former Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso (Picture: Getty)\n\nNew Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso helped convince Mikel Arteta to sign Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie.\n\nThe Gunners beat north London rivals Tottenham to a deal for Bayer Leverkusen star Hincapie last summer.\n\nWhile Arsenal signed Hincapie on a season-long loan, they had the option of making his stay permanent this summer for £45m.\n\nArteta was always planning to keep Hincapie beyond the current campaign and has been impressed by the 24-year-old Ecuador international’s first season at the Emirates Stadium.\n\n##  Get ready for the World Cup\n\nGet previews of every single team at the World Cup sent directly to your inbox, featuring the players to look out for, games you shouldn’t miss and Metro’s big England predictions. Don't miss out, sign up here.\n\nWhile not a guaranteed starter, Hincapie has been a reliable presence for the Gunners, helping them open up a healthy gap at the top of the Premier League and reach the Champions League final.\n\nHincapie returned to his former club Leverkusen earlier in the season as Arsenal beat the Bundesliga side in the Champions League knockout stages.\n\nArteta heaped praise on Hincapie ahead of that game and revealed he spoke to former Bayer Leverkusen boss Alonso before sanctioning the transfer.\n\nArsenal signed Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen (Picture: Getty)\n\nArteta was close to Alonso growing up and the pair kept in touch during their playing days and the start of their managerial careers.\n\nFriends will become foes next season after Alonso was appointed as the manager of Arsenal’s London rivals Chelsea on a four-year deal.\n\nSpeaking to TNT Sports earlier in the season, Arteta said: ‘When I spoke to Xabi just before we were going to sign him, I said if you have to describe him in one word, what would you use, and he said, “He’s a warrior.”\n\nXabi Alonso was sacked by Real Madrid in January (Picture: Getty)\n\n‘He will play through brick walls for you and he’s one of the most competitive players that I have had.\n\n‘He’s come into the Premier League after surgery and a difficult start without a pre-season, and when you see him around his team-mates and competing on the pitch, it’s like he’s been here for 10 years.\n\n‘He has an aura, a charisma – a really special character.’\n\nPiero Hincapie has impressed for Arsenal this season (Picture: Getty)\n\nHincapie was not the only former Bayer Leverkusen player who featured in Arsenal’s squad in the Champions League.\n\nKai Havertz started out at the German club before joining Chelsea in 2023 and then moving to London rivals Arsenal three years later.\n\n‘It’s impossible not to love Kai,’ Arteta added. ‘He’s so kind, so humble, so honest, so hard-working.\n\nPOLL\n\nPoll\n\n### Will Arsenal win the Champions League\n\n  * Yep!Check\n\n  * Doubt itCheck\n\n\n\n\n‘When you meet his family, you understand straight away how he’s been raised and what is important to him in life.\n\n‘I know Kai in the very best moments and Kai in the low moments as well, especially when a player picks up an injury, when you see the real person.\n\n‘It’s very difficult to find a better person than Kai in football.’\n\nArsenal proved too strong for German side Bayer Leverkusen before beating Portuguese champions Sporting and Spanish giants Atletico Madrid to reach their first Champions League final since 2006.\n\nChampions League holders PSG await Arsenal in the final, which will be held on May 30 in Budapest.\n\nArteta’s side look set to lift the Premier League trophy before that showpiece event, with wins in their final two games against Burnley and Crystal Palace guaranteeing them their first league title in 22 years.\n\nChelsea turned to ex-Spain midfielder Alonso after sacking Liam Rosenior last month. The Liverpool legend takes over at Stamford Bridge in July.\n\n**For more stories like this, check our sport page**.\n\n**Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on**Facebook,** Twitter and Instagram**.\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "New Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso convinced Mikel Arteta to sign £45m Arsenal star"
}