Arsenal expect to land Tierney after Pepe deal as Emery eyes two more signings

Arsenal expect Tierney to arrive after the Gunners smashed their transfer record to land Pepe (Image: GETTY)

ARSENAL expect Kieran Tierney to arrive after the Gunners smashed their transfer record to land Nicolas Pepe.

The Ivory Coast winger finally joined from Lille on Thursday night, signing a five-year deal earning him around £138,000-a-week.

And it’s understood Arsenal’s spending this summer is far from finished.

The Gunners expect Celtic left-back Tierney to arrive soon in a £25m deal, with Unai Emery also eyeing a centre-half.

Arsenal boss Emery wants Scotland international Tierney to be his long-term left-back.

The Gunners and Celtic have been locked in talks, with both sides apart on a transfer fee.

In terms of eyeing a centre-back, Arsenal could lose both Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi this summer.

Arsenal boss Emery is keen to replace a centre-half if Koscielny or Mustafi leave.

Emery moved to land goalscoring winger Pepe because he believes that the Gunners still lacked quality pace and power on the flanks.

Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha was also a major target this summer, but the South London club wanted a similar fee for their Ivorian star, and Lille, crucially, were willing to accept £20m up front with the remainder of the fee paid in instalments over five years. Zaha’s wage demands were also higher.

Pepe scored 35 goals in 74 Ligue 1 appearances for Lille, who he joined from Angers in 2017.

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.”

He becomes the fourth most expensive signing in Premier League history after Manchester United duo Paul Pogba (£89m) and Romelu Lukaku (£75m), and Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk (£75m).

Last season, only Paris St-Germain's Kylian Mbappe had more combined goals and assists than Pepe, who will wear the number 19 shirt for the Gunners.

He becomes Arsenal’s fifth signing of the summer so far, after Gabriel Martinelli, William Saliba – who returns on loan to Saint Etienne for the coming season – and Dani Ceballos on loan.

Pepe has been told he will be a key component of Arsenal’s bid to get back into Champions League football next season.

While many Gunners fans were still questioning why the club have gone for another forward, when do not appear to have solved the many defensive problems hanging over from last season, inside the club it was felt that Pepe brought a dimension to their forward line they lacked, especially away from home.

Arsenal’s record on their travels last season in the Premier League was poor last term – just 25 points picked up from 19 games, with only seven wins, as they finished in fifth place.

Emery is now looking in the next week before the transfer window shuts to unload one or two players – with Koscielny in talks with French club Rennes, and fellow defender Mustafi also surplus to requirements.