Arsenal: Nicolas Pépé transfer unexpected and unbelievable

In a stunning turn of events, Nicolas Pépé will be coming to Arsenal, alongside the likes of Aubameyang and Lacazette; the impact he will have and how.

I have gone on alongside the rest of the footballing world, prognosticating and surmising whom else could provide the width Arsenal has needed alongside strikers like Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Gabriel Martinelli was a wonderful start, then news of fellow young Brazilian Everton Soares broke with great hope building further. Based on reports I had been reading, the width and attacking would be filled by either Wilfried Zaha or Moise Kean. Nicolas Pépé to Arsenal was very six months ago—when I wrote about it as well. Nicolas Pépé to Arsenal is actually happening.

As first reported by the BBC, winger Nicolas Pépé is about to be an Arsenal man. The club will pay Lille €80 million for the player in installments while the deal is expected to be completed within the next day or two.

Italian sources Sky Sports Italia and Calciomercato.com first reported that Arsenal was in the running for the player just hours before, despite other sources like BBC denying the whispers and rumors during this same time.

Pépé himself is young, creative, skillful and a visionary while on the pitch. Arsenal will immediately become one of the fastest offensive shapes in Europe when Nicolas Pépé can play wide alongside Lacazette and Aubameyang centrally just ahead of Özil in the 4-3-1-2 or 3-4-1-2. Add Everton, Alex Iwobi or Martinelli to the other side and you have blazing pace alongside brilliant strikers, with blazing pace.

If given the choice at Pépé, Zaha or Kean, I would choose Pépé, Kean followed by Zaha for the following reasons: youth, ability, team fit and environment.

At 24, Nicolas Pépé is between his fellow, and older Ivorian national teammate 26-year-old Wilfried Zaha, and the 19-year-old Italian Moise Kean in terms of age. He is fit to contribute wonderful football, pace and creativity for years at an even higher level than previously witnessed of him. Zaha could have only a couple years left in prime form, while Kean could perhaps use a little polishing before a consistent role is awarded him.

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Establishing dangerous width was a struggle for Arsenal last year. It became such that, if Laca and Auba were unable to get the ball or score, that the offense could be guilty of looking stagnant and hopeless at times throughout the campaign. Nicolas Pépé is an answer to that problem from the start; if a team forgets him to pay attention to other weapons, he will feast on a defensive back line.

All three players, Zaha, Pépé and Kean have dynamic speed; that was a key trait that Edu, Raul Sanllehi and Unai Emery knew was needed to infuse the offense further. Pépé is the player whose skillset matches our needs in the most fundamental sense in that his age, speed, shotmaking and creating abilities, alongside his age and form make him a natural fit alongside Laca, Auba, Everton, Dani Ceballos, Mesut Özil, and hopefully Kieran Tierney aiding the backend.

While Pépé cannot fix all of the problems Arsenal has to remedy, it does continue to fine-tune the club’s offensive personality. Mesut Özil will have more weapons at his disposal than at perhaps any other time in his career; his innovation could see Arsenal score with reckless abandon. More space for Lacazette and Aubameyang means better opportunities with less defenders crowding the most lethal Gunners on the field.

While Pépé is not a centre-back as well, unfortunately, he can provide that which is summed up in a famous adage spoken by George Washington, that “the best defense is a good offense.”

Finding that premier defensive stopper may be a longer game for Arsenal; with youth, William Saliba and/or the likes of Calum Chambers or Rob Holding as possible stop gaps. In the meanwhile however, Arsenal could not sit idly by without further building an offense that can further protect a shaky back line whatever the shape; Pépé is that defensive insurance.