BBC: Arsenal to introduce Nicolas Pepe with 80 mln euros

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Premier League's Arsenal finally made a big move on the transfer market – as BBC reported on Saturday, the Gunners reached an agreement with Ligue 1's Lille to land Nicolas Pepe with 80 million euros (about 89.2 million U.S. dollars).

According to BBC's David Ornstein, the transfer is expected to be completed in the next one or two days. Arsenal will sign a five-year contract with Pepe while paying the transfer fees in installments to Lille so they won't have to overshoot their budget for this summer.

Serie A's Napoli were also interested in the 24-year-old winger from Côte d'Ivoire and offered to pay the same price, but Pepe preferred joining Arsenal.

Nicolas Pepe (C) of Lille scores a goal in the game against Olympique de Marseille, September 30, 2018. /VCG Photo

Last season, Pepe scored 23 goals in the 41 games he played for Lille, helping the club end as runner-up of Ligue 1 and making the UEFA Champions League. He's one of the most popular targets on the market this summer. Multiple clubs, including Bundesliga's Bayern Munich, wanted to introduce him. It's definitely a surprise that Arsenal won the competition.

The last time Arsenal received any attention for their transfer move happened six years ago when the club bought Mesut Özil from Real Madrid with 47 million euros (about 52.4 million U.S. dollars).

Wilfred Zaha of Crystal Palace in the game against Huddersfield Town, March 30, 2019 /VCG Photo

The Gunners are known for living with a lean wallet. Previously they offered 40 million pounds (about 49.5 million U.S. dollars) to Crystal Palace for Wilfred Zaha. Crystal Palace rejected the offer without hesitation as they believe Zaha's worth to be at least 80 million pounds (about 99.1 million U.S. dollars). Even Arsenal fans joked about the news by calling their club "an absolute joke."

The Gunners have to do something because they cannot be in a worse situation. The team ranked only 5th in the Premier League last season, failing to enter the UEFA Champions League, which meant they also missed tens of millions of euros of bonus. Moreover, they have been trying to get rid of Özil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to save money, even though sending the two away will further weaken the team's uncompetitive unit. In such desperate times, landing a promising young star should be a cardiac stimulant to the club.