Nicolas Pepe will make £72m Arsenal transfer on Tuesday or Wednesday… as long as PSG do not make late swoop
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ARSENAL are on the verge of breaking their transfer record for Nicolas Pepe - but are vulnerable to being gazumped by Paris Saint-Germain.
Having beaten Napoli to agreeing a deal with the player, the Gunners hope to present him as one of their own on either Tuesday or Wednesday.
According to Lille-based outlet , PSG are capable of making a last-ditch bid for the winger.
But that is considered unlikely with Pepe already set on North London.
PSG looked at one point to be needing a replacement for star winger Neymar but speculation around his future has died down despite his request to leave.
Both Napoli and Arsenal matched Lille's £72million valuation for Ivorian ace Pepe but the Premier League team's personal terms package won the day.
And fans got even more excited when his cousin mocked up an image of him in a Gunners shirt.
Following the Africa Cup of Nations, he was granted extra time off before pre-season and holidayed in Miami.
When Pepe departed the States some speculated he was flying straight to England.
Arsenal, who lost 2-1 to Lyon in the Emirates Cup on Sunday, have only added loanee Dani Ceballos to their first-team squad this summer.
William Saliba will arrive next year after signing for £27m and heading back to Saint-Etienne on loan, whilst teenager Gabriel Martinelli was their first incoming for £6m.
After the pre-season defeat, Unai Emery opened up on how the Pepe deal is progressing.
The Arsenal boss said: “Pepe is a very good player and we are thinking only about signing players who will really, really improve this squad and also give us different conditions.
“We have been working for the last few weeks to get the best team with the best players in our squad before our first game against Newcastle.
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“There are different players players on the table with the possibility we can achieve their signature.
“At the beginning of the market we were thinking to do one centre-back, one full-back and one winger. We are still thinking the same way.