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BBC David Ornstein confirms massive Arsenal deal agreed

Well, I have to admit this has come as a little bit of surprise despite the tabloid rumours. According to the reliable David Ornstein, Arsenal has, in fact, had a massive bid for Lille’s Nicolas Pepe accepted and the transfer could be completed within the next 48 hours.

This is huge for Arsenal though I suspect it will kill off the Wilfried Zaha pursuit but who knows, the club is surprising me recently.

It appears that Arsenal does not have to splash the cash out in one go and that this €80m deal is to be paid in instalments.

How much and when will determine any further transfers I suppose and with the increased speculation about a Kieran Tierney deal there is every chance that even more transfers can be expected.

We still need a central defender but that is for another time, this is news that we should be celebrating on its own merits.

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80 Comments

  1. Just looked at the odds yesterday 10/1 today 1/12 on so something is definitely going on here ,hopefully we could sign him and Zaha ?

    1. Dan, It quite clearly will not be both of them. Whatever makes you think it will be? As Ornstein has oft proved a reliable source, I now believe we will get Pepe. And ONLY Pepe,at least as a winger. Just common sense surely!

        1. The why not indicate that in your original post? I admoit to being older than most and must assume your puzzling emoji with tears of laughter is your attempt to have made yourself clear. It didn’t work though clearly. Emojois are the false tool of the semi literate IMO, though I do not accuse you of being such. Just naive perhaps, since we are not mind readers and actual words make intentions crystal clear, unlike emojis!

      2. Is it common sense for man city to have Bernardo Silva.. sterling..Sane.. Kelvin D..Riyadh M and sometimes David Silva all wing prayers
        If Arsenal can add ZAHA to Pepe let do it
        Exciting season ahead

    2. I think this could be Arsenal’s way of putting pressure on Palace by showing “false” interest in Peppe? Maybe looking for Palace to lower the price of Zaha?

      1. Sky are reporting that we are confident of the deal 72 mil ,probably 1 mil a year for the next 72 years
        Odds at 1/16 on now

  2. If we get Pepe and Tierney then i think this would be a good transfer window.
    Youngsters should be given a chance at the CB role.

      1. Why not? Bielik, Chambers, Mavro and Medley can all try and stake a claim on a starting spot until Holding is fit. Sokratis as our most ‘reliable’ CB will probably take the other spot.

    2. They may not have that ability and strength to make it to the end of the season we just need one CB to add to the team because of injury

  3. When I see it on the arsenal website I will celebrate. Not sooner

    I’ve been let down too many times
    Also Arsenal have screwed up signings too like Lemar.

    So when I see it on the official website or here it from Emery then I will believe it

    2. If we do sign Pepe I hope Emery plays him on the left to bring real balance to our attack.Inverted wingers are not for me as they give defences time to regroup due to an inability to cross on the run with their weaker foot.Let’s hope we get Tierney as left back to me is a priority requirement.

  4. Well that has taken everyone by surprise. It has actually happened with just personal terms to be completed. I can’t quite digest this one just yet. Shocked

  5. Don’t get me wrong, a winger is needed… but…. I had my heart set on Zaha!

    Ornstein has spoken – at least Le Coq will be happy ?

    1. Zaha is overpriced.He has no resell value as compared to Pepe.One five year contract and he would finished in any competitive market due to his age.

      1. Pires, your correct comment is the precise reason why I never bought into the hype about us buying a 26 year old winger with fluctuating form for such a huge asking price. It would have been financial madness and I never for a single second thought we would offer that sort of money. We actually offered £40 mill it seems, which was plenty for what he is worth and that was never going to be accepted. I said so on here at the time it was first raised and was almost alone in saying so, though to a realist like me, it was obvious. A little THOUGHT goes a long way to finding out the ultimate truth and that PROPER thought has always been my guiding life principle.

        1. jon, as well if the quoted contract offer is correct €80 million over 5 years, this is only €16 million this year. That’s why so called transfer budgets allow the purchase of more players.
          I agree with you on Zaha (sorry Sue) and hopefully Arsenal still have enough in the kitty after Tierney and Pepe to still get Everton Soares and a CB such as Daniele Rugari.
          If all this happens it is a very successful transfer window in, but no one out yet.

    2. I was team Zaha as I never expected this rumour had any legs in it and has only been mentioned in the last day or so. Absolutely buzzing on this one and KT still to come possibly. Surely everyone has to be happier for the new season now you would hope. I wonder if the club can pull out one last surprise in this transfer window

      1. Just checked him out online, Dan… will be a great buy, plus I read Liverpool were after him, so this will be a major coup! Yes KT would also be great… I guess this is what Josh meant about us being excited!! ?

    3. Hi Sue,just saw more video of attempted robbery. There appears to be a backpack left behind. Wonder if it’s thieves.

  8. sky sports reported that fee had already been agreed yesterday but arsenal have now become frontrunner because we have offered the best salary. get this one done and we might just outscore this terrible defence to a top 3 this year while waiting for saliba. Pepe is a very good finisher and with lacazette and aubameyang they can switch position to wreak havoc on opponent defence with hopefully a good ozil and ceballos behind them.

  9. Here are some wingers’ price tags, as a comparison:

    – Eden Hazard, 28 years old, right-footed LW, 130 M
    – Ousmane Dembele, 22 years old, ambidextrous RW and LW, 105 M
    – Wilfried Zaha, 26 years old, right-footed LW, 70 M
    – Christian Pulisic, 20 years old, right-footed LW, 64 M
    – Riyad Mahrez, 28 years old, left-footed RW, 60 M

    Lethal wingers are generally more expensive than other players because they are usually the ones that take the highest risks in the games. But left-footed RWs are generally pricier than the right-footed ones, probably because there are fewer of them nowadays

    1. If Pepe and KT are signed today the Emirates will be buzzing tomorrow.

      If they are both signed If expect the brain trust to shift gears and start off-loading players soon. I’d wager their target would be about £100m in sales – hopefully Lacazette and Aubamayang are safe, Ozil and Mhkytarian might be too hard to shift but the likes of Xhaka, Chambers, Mustafi, Nelson and Iwobi could start to fill that hole. Not saying I want to see them all go but just being realistic.

  12. He has alot of pace,power and is a very good finisher! If we get him on the rumoured installment payment plan,I’ll be really chuffed because that should still free up some funds for other areas.He is predominately a right winger,so that still keaves us with a problem on the left.I cannot help but wonder whats happening with everton soares. Can you imagine a front line of everton,auba/laca,pepe

    Ofcours we still need a LB/CB but let’s take it step by step and only celebrate/moan once its all done.

    1. That would be some scary stuff, Stan haha I doubt the club is going for both though. Seems like Everton Soares was a backup in case we failed in our Zaha pursuit.

      I can picture Auba playing on the left, in a Henry-esque position with Laca in the center as a false 9 and Pepe wreaking havoc from the right. Given Emery’s recent comments about leaning towards a back four, it makes sense to play a 4-3-1-2 with Ceballos/Xhaka/Torreira or Guendozi in the middle. I think what held back this system before is Ozil’s ineffectiveness as a playmaker last ozil and our lack of threats on the wings so it was down to Laca or Auba to create some magic, but I am very excited for this season!

  15. The attack is aging faster then the defence, they’re probably sorting it out before prices keep inflating. Also defence is a easier to bring through the academy then attack in football. Holdings been solid and was on track for a England cap before his injury, he’ll be back soon

  16. The only thing that could completely ruin this news is Mustafi getting a new contract ? that would be a very Arsenal thing to do ?

  17. My mouth watering pacy line up.

    Aubameyang. Lacazette.

    Martinelli. Cabellos. Torreira. Pepe.

    Tierney. Sokratis. Holding. Bellerin.

    Leno.

    This team will take on any other team that comes our way. Good times fellow gunners.
    With this squad we can finish third and win the Europa League.
    That will be the target I will set for myself if I were Emery.

  18. This is turning out to be some week.

    I hope those who were spouting doom and gloom 7 days ago are not fully aboard the hype train for next season!! choo choo

    1. We’re just used to being let down. We asked the club to put up and shutup and seems they are putting up! Thank goodness! Still waiting for it to be 100% completed but what a signing if this does go through, well done Arsenal. I give you massive credit for pulling this off

      1. That’s was meant to say “now” and not “not” hopefully now everyone is back on board and we can stop with the negativity

        It looks like Josh Kroenke was bang on when he said be excited too despite the majority having their doubts.

        Maybe there is something to this new modern management structure we have! I’m actually buzzing for the season to start now

  19. OT: Reports coming out that Celtic have offered Emilio Izaguirre a contract extension…… Could well be their ‘contingency plan’ Lenny spoke off for KT leaving.

    As for Pepe…. Well I was sure that was just paper talk but the Ornstein has spoken…. We pull these last two deals off and we have had a fantastic window even if we don’t get another CB

  20. Signing a marquee superstar was a condition in Adidas deal.They need to sell jersey to recover some money.

    1. But we have “The Shirt Seller” (Ozil). Has over 30 million twitter followers that all buy his jerseys.
      Lol ?

  21. Wooooooow am I dreaming thank God if we can get tierny then this will be a very good window, laca pepe auba ceballos with Saka iwobi and Nelson coming from the bench, ooh this is damn good.If only we can offload mustafi ozil and myki then it will be a great window.

  22. The only thing that bothers me is that he doesn’t have a “Playing Style” section on his Wikipedia page. Top players have “Playing Style” section.

      1. Maybe Pepe has been too busy playing to fill out his profile, including his “playing style”,

  23. Hello guys, what is going on with Arsenal? How can a club with a transfer budget of £45m agree to sign a £72 million player? Please someone should pinch me to confirm that I am not sleeping. Could this be the big and expensive signing promised by Josh Kroenke? Now let’s get a central defender and we are good to go.COYG

          1. Exactly right kev; you, I and others have tried to explain this, however many appear to have difficulty grasping the concept of instalments.

  26. These are great news. I don’t think they will go after Zaha after that, but I would love a deal with Gremio for Everton: cheaper and with more potential market value than Zaha.
    They should sell Iwobi, Mhki and Kos and should be able to sign Tierney and Rugani to strenghten the defence.
    And this would be one of the best transfer windows for a long time!

    1. yes we need Everton and some good defenders , then we will be in the race for the tittle.

  27. Why did you feel it was necessary to take this moment to just basically insult your fellow fans?

  29. BBC and Sky Sports are reporting that the PEPE 80 Million Euro deal might be completed within the next 48 hours.

    This is so unbelievable.

    With the addition of this beast, The Arsenal attack is the best in the EPL at the moment, no arguments, no questions asked!

  30. I’m way confused!! Pepe is a fantastic player but with Nelson, Iwobi, Saka etc couldn’t we have got by without buying a winger unless iwobi is going? I would have preferred us to buy another creative midfielder as weve never replaced the gap left by rosicky and cazorla Wilshire, (on his day) Ramsey etc. Too much reliance on ozil. I now cebalos is here now but only temporaryily. Massive cous though if weve really got him. I favour holding and chambers/sokratis/mavraponas as CBS this year and Saliba + holding the future from next year hopefully.

    1. Arsenal have Dani Ceballos at least for next season with Joe Willock, AMN, Guendouzi and Smith-Rowe developing as midfielders.
      Hopefully Ozil will lift his game now that he is apparently injury free and has a wife to support on his meagre wage ?.
      Mhikatarian and Ewobi are still on the books, as are Torierra, Chambers, Bielik, Zhaka and Elneny as DM’s.

  32. If this deal could pulled off I would be one of the happiest Gunner. Come on! Gunners happy days are gradually returning.

  33. Am just tried off sweet and fake news coming out from different source of the transfer news to our their wonderful team at all times and end up not becoming a reality at the end of the day. there is different between Like, Love, Want and Get me this player. some players nowadays kill there self because of selfish Interest and end up becoming nor valuable

  34. Just Watched him (pepe) on YouTube, he seem a massive buy that we have all cried out for. The fact that he’s a very trickish and strong ST who has an affinity for goals using both right and left foot. I really can’t wait for the deal to get over the line and the announcement made official along side KT. Good season ahead COYG!!

    1. He can barely shoot with his right leg…but that left is a deadly plus he got tricks and damn fast.

  35. Pepe is a one season wonder. We should get Ziyech and Everton Soares together for that amount of money because Everton is Brazilian with Samba feet and Ziyech has a wicked and skillful left foot. I hope am wrong on Pepe though.

  36. This may seem a soft thing to say, but it would be good if we had a team worthy of celebrating 100 consecutive years in the top
    flight

  37. Signing pepe and adding Tierney would be a solid window!!

    But adding koulibaly as our CB dream signing a few days before window shuts.. NOW that would be hell of a thank u to all the fans for all the BS over the years.. that would make a statement to prove to us fans that u do care !! I just hope a CB is on the list!!

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