Arsenal coach Unai Emery has hailed Nicolas Pepe as a “very good player” as his side close in on signing the winger.

Gunners are close to an €80 million (£72m/$89m) agreement with Lille as talks progressed rapidly over the weekend.

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.

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.

“The club is thinking about how we can improve. There are different players on the table,” Emery said after his side’s 2-1 defeat to Lyon in a friendly on Sunday.

“Pepe’s a very good player. We only want players who can really, really improve the squad. We want the best players possible for the first game at Newcastle.”

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Kelvin Trudeau Musako

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