The two reasons why Arsenal chose to sign Nicolas Pepe instead of Wilfried Zaha

Arsenal is about to smash his transfer record with Lille winger Nicolas Pepe for £ 72 million.

Despite obvious concerns over a defense that scored 51 goals in the Premier League last season, Unai Emery was keen to strengthen his offensive options with wingers Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, flattering to deceive in his first campaign at the club's head from North London.

Arsenal has artists like Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson and Bukayo Saka, as well as Gabriel Martinelli, summer recruiter, claiming his place in the first team, but Emery will be investing a significant portion of his 24-year transfer budget. former Ivorian international.

The Gunners had asked the Brazilian Malcom and his compatriot Everton Soares to investigate Barcelona's demand. They had also made an official offer of £ 40 million to Crystal Palace for compatriot Wilfried Zaha of Pepe earlier this summer.

The Eagles, who felt that Zaha, who is currently attracting considerable interest from Everton, rejected the offer at 80 million pounds and wanted at least $ 55 million in advance.

The position of the Palace forces Arsenal to turn to Pepe, who scored 23 goals in all competitions and who helped Lille to qualify for the Champions League as a finalist in Ligue 1 PSG.

According to the Independent, Lille was much more accommodating than Palace with regard to the payment in installments over five years, while the salary demands of the players would be much lower than those of Zaha.

Arsenal, who has steadfastly refused to deal with super agents during the reign of Arsene Wenger, would have recruited Jorge Mendes to help him negotiate an agreement. Pepe is expected to undergo a medical exam later this week and could debut against Barcelona Joan Gamper Trophy on Sunday.