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.
Arsenal have reached an agreement with Lille to sign Ivory Coast winger Nicolas Pepe for ~€80m, paid by instalments to fit #AFC budget. 5yr deal, agent agreement still needed but set to be closed in next 24/48hrs. Napoli also have agreement with #LOSC but agent rejected proposal
— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) July 27, 2019
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.