Now that the January transfer window has opened, it is finally time for the Gunners to sign a few players. There are a few reasons for this and that includes the injury problems as well.
One player that has been linked with Arsenal is the Ivory Coast winger Nicolas Pepe who plays for LOSC Lille.
As per the TuttoMercatoWeb(via Daily Star), the London club have turned their attention to the winger after being rebuffed in their attempt to sign Cengiz Under from Italian club Roma.
The Italians want a fee in the region of £45m but the Gunners are willing to part with only £28m. As a result of this, Pepe is the option that Arsenal are now looking at.
Arsenal manager Unai Emery spoke about signing players and his comments reveal something about the way in which the Gunners want to move forward. According to Daily Star, He said:
“It depends if the transfer market can help you, only if there are players who can help us in different positions.”
The injuries suffered by Rob Holding and Danny Welbeck has put Arsenal in a spot of bother as both of them are not expected to play again this season.
This means that the Gunners will have to look at bringing in players to cover for this loss. The team is still active in three competitions and to do well in them, you need a full squad.
The impending departure of Aaron Ramsey will also play a part in the way Arsenal conduct their transfer business. Ramsey is a vital part of the team and replacing him is going to prove to be a tough task.
Pepe has been hugely impressive this season and has scored 12 goals so far in the French League. To put this into perspective, the only player who has scored more goals than Pepe is the French wonder kid Kylian Mbappe.
So, it goes without saying that if Arsenal are able to get Pepe, it’ll be a good deal but Lille are sure to set a high price for him. We will have to wait and see what happens.
