Unai Emery has had his say on Arsenal’s pursuit to sign one of Europe’s most in-demands stars, the Gunners would have a frightening attack if this star joins.
According to Football.London, Arsenal manager Unai Emery responded with “he’s a very good player” when he was asked about the Gunners’ pursuit of Lille star Nicolas Pepe.
According to Sky Italia, Arsenal are leading the race to sign the in-demand attacker after agreeing a €80m (£72m) deal with Lille.
Sky Italia reported that the Gunners moved ahead of Italian giants Napoli after they offered a more lucrative amount to Pepe’s agents.
According to Mirror Football via French publication L’Equipe, Liverpool, Inter Milan and Napoli also agreed €80m (£72m) deals with Lille for the 24-year-old.
Here’s what Emery had to say when quizzed about Arsenal’s pursuit of Pepe:
“The club is thinking on how we can improve. There are different players on the table. Pepe’s a very good player. We only want players who can really, really improve the squad.”
“We want the best players possible for the first game at Newcastle.”
If the Gunners can secure Pepe’s signature, Emery’s hopes of steering Arsenal back to the Champions League will be massively boosted.
Pepe’s sensational performances for Lille catapulted the French side to a surprise second-placed finish in Ligue 1 last season, Pepe scored 22 league goals and provided 11 assists to his teammates last year.
This was Emery’s response when he was asked whether Arsenal need a winger this summer:
“Again, we really want players who make the squad better than last year.”
One of Arsenal’s priorities for the summer should be signing a quality wide player, academy graduates Alex Iwobi and Reiss Nelson are the club’s only natural wingers with first-team experience.
Pepe largely plays on the right wing, but the star’s versatility has also seen him flourish in a central attacking role.
The Ivorian’s versatility would allow for him to fill in for either of Alexandre Lacazette or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the event that one half of the Gunners’ strike duo is injured or requires a rest.
