Arsenal have signed Ivory Coast winger Nicolas Pepe from Lille for a club record fee of £72m.

The 24-year-old has signed a five-year contract at Emirates Stadium after having a medical on Tuesday.

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

“Nicolas is a highly rated and talented winger who was wanted by many of the top teams in Europe,” said Gunners boss Unai Emery.

“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.”

Ivorian.

Pepe had been linked to Liverpool, Manchester United, Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain after tallying 23 goals and 12 assists in all competitions last term, but it is the north London side who have jumped ahead of the queue with an offer to pay Lille’s asking price in installments.

Despite a poor campaign with Ivory Coast at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, Emery was full of praise for the 24-year-old, saying Arsenal will keep looking to strengthen the squad before the new season begins on August 11.

BBC Sport

Kelvin Trudeau Musako

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