Arsenal have done some great business lately. The deal to bring Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Arsenal, though pricey, has proven to be a masterstroke, with the Gabonese forward impressing, whilst deals for the likes of Mateo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira have also gone down well.
Naturally, if Arsenal are going to achieve success long-term, they need to build a squad of top-quality players, and that’s exactly what they’re doing at present.
However, their latest transfer target would be a diversion from that successful path they’ve gone down. According to the Times, the Gunners want Lille man Nicolas Pepe. On the surface, a move for the attacker makes sense. He’s been good in front of goal as of late, and he’s clearly improving, and at 23-years-old, there’s a lot still to come from him.
That said, it’s difficult to claim that this deal is one that Arsenal should be completing, nor is it one that they even need to look at.
After all, let’s take a moment to consider Unai Emery’s current options. Between Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Alex Iwobi, Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Aaron Ramsey and Emile Smith Rowe, there’s plenty of talent available to Unai Emery. That’s without considering the swathes of young talent at the club, or someone like Reiss Nelson, who is impressing away from the club on loan. It’s not that Pepe is necessarily a bad player – it’s just he’s not the sort of player that Arsenal need.
That said, it’s important to consider the quality that he possesses, and it’s hard to justify that a move for him makes sense in that regard, either. Despite being one of the more impressive players in the Lille squad, he’s not exactly a world-beater, despite what his stats might tell you this season. The truth is, Pepe’s been a solid player since he moved to Lille, but he’s never been amongst the best in Ligue 1, and that’s the sort of calibre that Arsenal need to be targeting. Not to mention, the French league is at a much lower level than the English top flight, and so a decent campaign on the continent may become somewhat less impressive back in England. He’s done well for a couple of years, and that’s it. Is that enough to spend what would undeniably be a hefty chunk of change on the winger?
Arsenal aren’t looking to add bodies. They need to add quality that can improve their team. So, signing someone that is relatively unproven and who may struggle to adjust to the Premier League would be a risk, and when the prize is European football, this deal would not be a calculated risk at all – it has all the makings of a costly mistake.
Thoughts?
