24-year-old winger Denis Bouanga, who completed a transfer to Ligue 1 club St. Etienne this week, admits Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang played a part in the move.

Gabon international and former Nimes winger Bouanga signed on with St. Etienne on Tuesday, for a fee of around €4.5m.

Speaking to RMC, the French-born player admitted Arsenal star Aubameyang helped influence him to make the move after giving his international teammate some advice.

“Aubameyang gave me some good advice, it gave me even more desire,” Bouanga revealed (via Le10Sport).

“He will remain an icon here, I’m just starting. I hope to follow in his footsteps, he really made his mark with ASSE, I aspire to do the same. He’s an example here.”

The Arsenal star also posted on Twitter after the signing was confirmed, saying: “He won’t disappoint you.”

https://twitter.com/Aubameyang7/status/1148659862966026240

Aubameyang spent two-and-a-half seasons with St. Etienne, scoring 41 goals in his first major breakthrough in senior football.

The striker had played in Ligue 1 before with Lille and Monaco, but he’d only managed a couple of goals in over 20 appearances for each side. His spell with St. Etienne put him on the map, and it set him on the path to Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal.

It’s understandable Aubameyang would have good words to say about his former club. Next, it would be nice if the striker could say a few words to St. Etienne defender William Saliba to convince him to make the move to North London. It’s only fair.