What Arsenal have offered Nicolas Pepe as Gunners beat Man Utd and Liverpool to target

ARSENAL are set to hand Nicolas Pepe a bumper pay packet when they smash their transfer record with a £72million deal for the Lille hitman.

Posted Sunday, July 28, 2019 by Express.co.uk

What Arsenal have offered Nicolas Pepe as Gunners beat Man Utd and Liverpool to target (Image: GETTY)

The Gunners have been left with a clear run at Ivory Coast international after Serie A outfit Napoli pulled out of the race after failing to agree personal terms.

And they moved swiftly to strike a deal with Lille and the fee will be paid in instalments to fit in with their tight budget requirements.

Pepe will sign a five-year contract at Arsenal having been offered wages of £105,000 a week after at one stage it looked like he would be heading to Italy.

The £72m fee will be the biggest that the north London side have paid out, beating the £60m they gave Borussia Dortmund for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January 2018.

Pepe became one of the hottest properties in Europe this summer after scoring 22 goals in Ligue 1 last season and Express Sport revealed in April that he had been targeted by Manchester United and Liverpool.

The 24-year-old will become the third arrival at the Emirates Stadium in a matter of days after Dani Ceballos was loaned from Real Madrid and centre-back William Saliba joined from Saint-Etienne.

Unai Emery is looking to restore Arsenal to the Champions League positions next season, despite having to be frugal in the transfer market.

And they have made a solid start to their preparations for the new campaign, with three wins and a draw coming from four fixtures.

What Arsenal have offered Nicolas Pepe as Gunners beat Man Utd and Liverpool to target (Image: GETTY)

Arsenal have so far beaten Colorado Rapids, Bayern Munich and Fiorentina, while Real Madrid held them to a 2-2 stalemate.

New loan signing Ceballos says he is looking forward to getting his Arsenal career underway after seeing them in action this summer.

"I watched the pre-season games against Fiorentina and Bayern and we have lots of young players and players who already have a lot of experience,” Ceballos said.

"There is a good level so I’m looking forward to linking up with my team-mates and settling in as quickly as possible.”

Ceballos revealed how to of Arsenal’s current crop convinced him to head to the Premier League.

What Arsenal have offered Nicolas Pepe as Gunners beat Man Utd and Liverpool to target (Image: GETTY)

"Well, as you know there are Spanish players here like Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellerin,” Ceballos said.

"I get on really well with Hector away from football, on a personal level.

"I told him I was thinking of joining and he told me not to think twice because this is a great city and a great club and that I was going to have a great time.

"I can’t wait to see him and say thanks for his help in getting me here.”

Pepe could be with Arsenal on Wednesday when they face his former club Angers in a friendly at the Stade Raymond Kopa.