Arsenal made Nicolas Pepe their club record signing last summer, and while he didn’t get off to the best of starts, has he shown enough to deter us from signing a replacement?
The club will no doubt be spending money this summer, should there be a transfer window amidst the craziness of the current world, investing into the new philosophy that Arteta is bringing to the club, but where to spend the money will be the new problem.
We are currently being linked with moves for potential rivals to the winger, with Feyenoord’s Orkun Kokcu and Gent’s Jonathan David.
The latter is only 20, but has notched up 23 goals and 10 assists this season already, and is picking up a number of potential suitors. The American is more of a number 10, but with the ability to play wider, and could well be a shrewd signing.
Kokcu is more strongly linked with a move to our club, and could potentially be our new free-kick taker. The Turkish international is believed to be high on our radar, with an early move touted previously with us in fear that his stock would rise at the European Championships. Of course that competition may well be put back 12 months, possibly allowing a more lax approach to his signature.
The jury remains to be out on whether Pepe is the player we thought we was shipping out the big money on, and Eddie Nketieh and Gabriel Martinelli are currently impressing as they vie for match minutes. The Portuguese international has been in and out of the first team under all three managers this term, but more will be expected from him next season no doubt.
Do we need to add another winger to the team? Or would Kokcu be the better acquisition to play slightly deeper?
Patrick