Arsenal: No, Wilfried Zaha is not joining Nicolas Pepe

A report in the I Paper claimed that Arsenal are still considering a move for Wilfried Zaha despite already agreeing on a deal for Nicolas Pepe. Before anyone gets overly excited, this is not going to happen.

As of writing, the official Nicolas Pepe announcement is yet to come. Nevertheless, in the next day or two, the Lille winger will be unveiled as Arsenal’s record signing, the deal totalling £72 million over a series of staggered payments throughout the duration of the 24-year-old’s contract.

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It is an exceptionally exciting deal. Pepe is one of the brightest talents in European football, a long-time target of the Gunners, but initially viewed as out of their price range, other top clubs expected to sweep in ahead of them during the summer window.

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But Pepe was not Arsenal’s first choice. That honour belongs to Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, who was embroiled in a lengthy and ultimately unsuccessful north London transfer saga, including a humiliating bid worth half of his value and a brother publicly saying that he was desperate to make the move. The Pepe transfer, then, seemed to have nipped any potential Zaha move in the bud, the Palace winger outpricing what the Gunners could afford.

However, according to iNews, Raul Sanllehi and his band of merry transfer men have not completely given up on signing Zaha and are still pursuing an approximately £60 million deal, despite already shipping out £72 million on a winger who is very comparable to the former Manchester United man. If you are confused by the report, you are not the only one.

First and foremost, I do not believe a word of it. Not only can Arsenal not afford to invest that type of money this summer, even if the payments are staggered over several years, but even if they could, they would not be buying two, very similar wide attackers. There are other problems in the squad that must be addressed, like left-back and centre-back, both of which are more pressing than a second winger.

So where has the report come from, because iNews are not like the Sun or Daily Mirror to just make up a vague transfer rumour in the hope of drumming up some interest from desperate fans? My best guess is either Zaha’s camp or even Crystal Palace themselves.

Everton are also trying to prise Zaha away from Selhurst Park. They made an initial £52 million bid, which was rejected, and are now worried that Palace’s extornionate price will kill any potential transfer. As a result, this could be Zaha’s camp, who will want some form of transfer, desperately attempting to drum up some interest again by stating that there is competition. This report could also be leaked from Palace, who are simply trying to increase the price as much as possible.

In the end, I believe the reporting. Sam Cunningham is a renowned, highly commended journalist. This has not been made up from thin air. But I do not believe the content of the reporting, that Arsenal will move for both Zaha and Pepe. It just doesn’t make sense.