Denis Zakaria moved from Young Boys to Gladbach, rejecting contracts from Arsenal and Liverpool this summer, and spoke out about the reasons behind his decision.

The 20-year-old midfielder confirmed that Arsenal and Liverpool had both made contact with his agent, but he instead chose Borussia Monchengladbach because they showed the most interest.

Zakaria’s concern was that he would go to one of the English clubs and end up just sitting on the bench on in the reserves. He told SportBild via Sport Witness: “[Gladbach] wanted me 100 percent, so I wanted to go here and not to Liverpool. If you go to England and you are not immediately good, you are immediately outside. It was too early for me.”

It’s no surprise a young player in an weaker league would have concerns about directly making the switch to Arsenal. The Gunners have plenty of midfield options with more experience which would likely reduce his playing time.

He mentioned Granit Xhaka’s development in the interview, showing that he’s willing to follow the lead of the Swiss International by growing at a club like Glabach. He’ll be ready to move on to one of Europe’s biggest clubs when an opportunity arises in the future.

The defensive midfielder made 34 appearances for BSC Young Boys last season.