Arsenal snatch Nicolas Pepe

LONDON. — Arsenal have reached an agreement with French club Lille to sign Cote d’lvoire winger Nicolas Pepe in a deal worth 80m euros (£72 million).

The Gunners are set to hand Pepe a bumper pay packet when they smash their transfer record with a £72 million deal for the Lille hitman. Arsenal have been left with a clear run at Cote d’lvoire international after Serie A outfit Napoli pulled out of the race after failing to agree personal terms.

And they moved swiftly to strike a deal with Lille and the fee will be paid in instalments to fit in with their tight budget requirements.

Pepe will sign a five-year contract at Arsenal having been offered wages of £105 000 a week after at one stage it looked like he would be heading to Italy.

The £72 million fee will be the biggest that the north London side have paid out, beating the £60 million they gave Borussia Dortmund for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January 2018.

The Gunners will pay for the 24-year-old via a series of instalments that suit their restricted budget for this summer.

An agreement between Arsenal and Pepe’s representatives still needs to be finalised. But the transfer is expected to be completed in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Italian side Napoli also met Lille’s asking price, but their proposal was rejected by the player’s camp. Pepe tends to operate on the right wing and cut in on to his left foot, but can also be used as a striker in a 4-4-2 formation. — BBC Sport.