Arsenal: Do we really want to spend £65m on Nicolas Pepe?

Arsenal definitely need some stronger attacking options this summer, but is £65m for Nicolas Pepe really the way we should be spending money?

Arsenal have a lot to consider going into this summer transfer window, and even more to consider when you think about what money they may or may not have at their disposal, as well as what sort of silverware they’ll be carrying into the summer window.

But Nicolas Pepe has been linked to the club for the better part of the year. It started so casually, links in the area of £35m. Now, it’s nearly double that, with Lille expected to set the asking price near £65m.

That’s a lot of money. A lot of the rumors of this club’s “transfer kitty” aren’t even that high. They hover in the £40m range. Even if sales get us upwards of £100m, is £65m on one winger the best way to spend that money?

I say nay, and I say nay for one big reason. Because there are two defenders out there by the name of Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire, and they are said to be fetching a similar transfer fee of £60m.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

I would hope that most people would rather us invest the big chunk of our budget on a centerback than a winger.

If you look at our situation at winger, it’s a barren wasteland, but there are still some promising names on the up. Reiss Nelson, for instance. And we don’t even use wingers all the time. Sometimes we use wingbacks. Sometimes we rely on creative midfielders, a more important central role, which needs heavy investment too. Someone like Donny van de Beek or Joan Jordan.

For centerbacks, we will be using them every single match and as we saw this season and last, it’s a pretty terrifying concept when you have the rubble that we have, trying to piece together a reputable defense that can keep out your standard Premier League defense.

If you’re going to fork out a huge chunk of money, let it be for a player that is going to be playing for a huge chunk of time in a huge chunk of ways. That’s a centerback. A central midfielder. It’s not a winger.

I’d rather completely solidify the defense than fling something at the winger and hope it works. Not when we already have two elite strikers to drive the attack.