Arsenal confirm signing of forward Nicolas Pépé for a club-record fee from Lille

[Abdullah719]

Winger Nicolas Pepe has become our record signing after joining us from Ligue 1 club Lille.

The 24 year-old Ivory Coast international completed the paperwork on his move on Thursday. He will wear the No.19 shirt.

Head coach Unai Emery said: "Nicolas is a highly-rated and talented winger who was wanted by many of the top teams in Europe.

"Signing a top-class winger has been one of our key objectives in this transfer window and I'm delighted he's joining.

"He will add pace, power and creativity, with the aim of bringing more goals to our team."

The deal is subject to the completion of regulatory processes.

https://www.arsenal.com/news/nicolas-pepe-becomes-record-signing

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

Arsenal fans right now:

 

[Gabbar Singh]

What a miss by Pepe tonight.

 

[IMMY69]

Pepe looks no better then some of our youngsters coming through...
Which is disgusting when you look at his price tag

 

[PakLFC]

I was really upset when Arsenal signed this guy ahead of Liverpool. Now having seen him in action a few times he's another overrated Arsenal signing who just wanted to live in London it seems Despite having pace to burn Pepe doesn't seem to use it or perhaps the tactics don't suit him. When you sign a player for such a high price fans expect him to burn grass where as this guy just walks around. Had we signed him it would have upset the balance of our side particularly the front three. Pulisic now at Chelsea is another one we chose not to pay big money for which was also a very good judgement by Klopp saheb.

 

[Mamoon]

He is a fraud. Gervinho with a better haircut. No wonder the big clubs weren’t in for him.

 

[PetroDollars]

looks like many EPL clubs dodged a bullet by not signing him,

Had Mourinho still been at MU, he would've probably signed him and woodward would've signed off the paperwork in a desperate attempt.

Many arsenal fans though we were trolling when we said we got a better player in £15m James, but now it looks like reality has kicked in for those fans )

For all his faults Ole has been great in his transfer business.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Certainly made an impact tonight - two wonderful free kicks.

 

[Mamoon]

Two stunning free-kicks, but he needs to show more from open play against quality opposition. Plenty of average players have been top quality at set-pieces.

I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment by getting excited over little.

 

[Sir-fraz]

Nicolas Pepe: Will late heroics help launch Arsenal career?

Unai Emery called Nicolas Pepe's match-winning impact "perfect" after Arsenal's record signing scored two brilliant free-kicks to maintain their winning Europa League start.

The £72m summer signing from Lyon came off the bench to curl home two goals in the last 10 minutes, turning a 2-1 deficit to Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes into victory.

"We are very happy for him and for us," said Gunners boss Emery

"Those two goals were perfect."

The Ivory Coast winger had scored just one goal in 11 appearances prior to Thursday night's win at Emirates Stadium, as he struggled to live up to his price tag.

The pressure on him increased on Monday, when he missed a sitter in the defeat by Sheffield United - skewing a golden chance from six yards out in the first half - but his manager insists he always had faith.

Emery, whose side strengthened their grip at the top of Group F, said: "The most important thing is the three points and that some individual players can improve, that they can take confidence for us and for them.

"Every player, usually, they need time to adapt. Pepe is a very good player and we believe in him, totally.

"The way he's going, sometimes he feels better, sometimes it's with more difficulty on the pitch.

"He's improving and tonight those two goals are really important for us first, and then secondly for him. He's continuing the adaptation in his process and as soon as he can adapt, that's better for us."

Is this the moment Pepe finally arrived at Arsenal
Pepe's heroics in the last 10 minutes prompted former Arsenal defender Martin Keown to say "now we are going to see how good he really is".

"Everybody has got to have that first moment at a club," Keown added on BT Sport. "The fans were worried because Bukayo Saka looked a better player but now maybe they have two great players. This is the chance to launch his Arsenal career."

And Arsenal team-mate Hector Bellerin said the team "know what he's capable of".

"We knew how good he's been in the last couple of seasons," he added. "Sometimes coming to another country and coming into another league can take time but I think this is going to be very important for the team and very important for him to score these two goals.

"It's important that goals can sometimes come from individual actions. We want to play as a team but sometimes you need these players to produce these moments of magic."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/50177333

 

[Rana]

Some players can’t help being sold for big money.

A lot of pressure on him to match the price tag, as if he is already the finished article. Had he been bought for £40M he would be playing like a £70M player regularly.

 

[Rana]

One prime example is Aubameyang. Arsenal bought the guy for a bargain £55m when he was a bonafide finisher at BVB. The guy currently is playing like he is worth £130m in today’s market. The whole transfer market is based on risk and luck, who you get for what value and the pressure of the price tag itself.

 

[Hasan123]

He is quality. Those doubting him have no patience. He didn't have a pre season and is adapting to a new country.