Arsenal: Nicolas Pepe no meagre Wilfried Zaha alternative

Arsenal have reportedly made an offer for Lille’s Nicolas Pepe. If they are turning their attentions away from Wilfried Zaha, Pepe is no meagre focus.

Arsenal need a new winger. That much was clear as soon as Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all walked out of the club in one way or another over the space of six months. Suddenly, there was a dearth of wide, direct dribblers in the squad. And last season’s narrow, predictable attacking performances proved it.

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This summer, a wide player with speed, skill and an eye for goal was a priority from day one. A slew of different names have been linked with a move to north London, including Yannick Carrasco, Ryan Fraser and Everton Soares, an indication of the scouting work the club has undertaken in an attempt to find a suitable winger.

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However, for most of the window, the number one priority has been Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha. Zaha, who scored ten goals in the Premier League, including one against Arsenal in a 3-2 victory towards the end of the year that convinced Unai Emery that he was the one to solve the wide problems, is the ideal prototype player that was needed. Extremely quick, technically excellent, lethal with the ball at his feet, and good end product.

But there was always one major hurdle with any potential Zaha transfer: price. Palace value the Ivorian at £80 million. That has not changed since the start of the window. The north London outfit do not have that type of money, not even close, and would have to sanction some serious sales to fund such a move.

As the deadline now approaches and the need for a winger only heightens in importance, Raul Sanllehi and new technical director Edu are beginning to turn to other options, recognising that Zaha might be out of their price range. And one name that has surfaced is Lille’s, Nicolas Pepe.

Arsenal are long-standing admirers of Pepe. His 22 goals and 11 assists in Ligue 1 last season are proof of his qualities, as 2.7 dribbles per game, 1.8 chances created per game, and 3.1 shots per game. They have also reportedly contacted Lille regarding a possible sale and have agreed to a fee with the keen-to-sell French club.

It remains to be seen how real these reports are, but Emery and the club do like Pepe a lot. And if the price has come down as the deadline looms, perhaps the 24-year-old has slipped into the Gunners’ price range, making him a viable alternative to Zaha.

And Pepe would not be some meagre second prize. Some would argue that he is already a better player than Zaha, despite not playing in the Premier League. He is younger, has terrific resale value, and was one of the best players in Ligue last year. Pepe is no Ryan Fraser, that is for sure.

Zaha is still the club’s number one priority. He was all along and he will be until the transfer window shuts. But Pepe is not a bad number two whatsoever. In fact, he would be quite the coup.