Mata turned down Arsenal and Spurs

Published Aug. 23, 2011 12:52 p.m. ET

foxsports

Juan Mata says he turned down the chance to join both Arsenal and Tottenham before opting for Chelsea.

Andre Villas-Boas is set to finalise the capture of the Valencia schemer on Tuesday in a deal worth in excess of £25million.

Both Arsenal and Tottenham were strongly linked with the 23-year-old earlier in the summer, and he has now confirmed that did snub approaches from the North London rivals.

"I want to come to England to win trophies - and that's why I accepted Chelsea's offer," Mata told The Sun.

"It was also a question of sporting achievement, not money. Arsenal and Tottenham were both interested in me but they did not compare with the Blues.

"I want the Premier League title and this is possible at Chelsea.

"Fernando Torres helped influence my decision but speaking directly with Villas-Boas was the decisive factor.

"He explained how his style will be based on 4-3-3 and how important I will be to his plans.

"Frank Lampard is a monster of a footballer to play alongside and the prospect of that is incredible."

Whilst Mata says silverware is the main reason he opted for Chelsea, Spurs boss Harry Redknapp insists he moved for financial reasons only.

"We were in for Mata and close to doing a deal. But he didn't come and Chelsea came in," Redknapp told the Daily Mail.

"Obviously they can blow you out of the water wage wise, and then he changes his mind and they get him. It's all about wages."