Nicolas Pepe, the Ivorian winger who plays for LOSC Lille is on the verge of completing a £72m move to Arsenal as per several media outlets including BBC.
French Press Association [AFP] are now claiming that the North London club have now offered Pepe a contract worth around £138,000-a-week [€8m-per season]. On the other hand, Sky Sports are claiming that the medical will happen in the next few days.
With all the hoopla surrounding the move fans got excited when he was spotted at the Miami airport. Pepe’s brother posted a short video on his Instagram profile and it has gotten the Arsenal fans giddy with excitement that the deal could be made official soon.
Nicolas Pepe at the Airport pic.twitter.com/9KxuEtn0DW
— Alex (@Alex1afc) July 28, 2019
Though his destination at the time was not known, fans have started speculating that he is indeed on his way to London. If and when the move for Pepe is made official, it will be a club-record deal for the North London club.
What makes this deal even more impressive is the kind of competition that the club has beaten to secure a player of Pepe’s caliber. Some of the other clubs that were interested in the winger include Liverpool, Manchester United and Napoli with the Italians being the closest to agreeing on a deal for the Ivorian.
As for the player himself, he has grown leaps and bounds over the last few years with the 2018/19 season being a true statement of his quality. He was the star player in a Lille side that played some of the most exciting football in the French first division.
Pepe is a versatile forward/winger who is comfortable whether he is on the wings or is playing through the middle. His combination with players such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette will be a dream to watch this season for all the Gunners fans.
The fact that neither of Arsenal’s strikers will be sold to make way for Pepe is significant because the Gunners cannot really to afford to lose out on such important members of the squad.
Pepe is a real statement of intent from the Gunners hierarchy proving that they indeed care about the club and want to improve what is already there. They have also shown other clubs that just because Arsenal are not in the Champions League it doesn’t mean that they can’t attract the best players. With all the wheels in motion already, the transfer is not too far away from being made official.
