Arsenal has been told that they will have to be prepared to pay more for Houssem Aouar if they can splash the cash on a player like Nicolas Pepe.
This is the view of outspoken Lyon president, Jean-Michel Aulas, according to Le Progres via Get French Football.
The Gunners paid around 80m euros to sign Nicolas Pepe from Lille last season after they missed out on Houssem Aouar.
The Ivorian, at the time, was relatively unknown and had only just scored 23 goals in a league season for his former side.
Arsenal needed a winger and after they couldn’t land the likes of Ryan Fraser or Wilfried Zaha, they moved for Pepe.
Pepe struggled in his first season in England and some Arsenal fans are still waiting for him to deliver what his signing promised them, but he cannot hide from the huge transfer fee that was used to sign him.
Aulas said, according to Le Progres via Get French Football: “If Pepe is worth the price that they paid for him, then Houssem, who is an international player, is worth more than €30m.”
Arsenal has offered 35m euros for the midfielder, but it has been turned down and they are expected to table an improved bid soon.
