Arsenal have not given up their attempts to lure Wilfried Zaha to the Emirates, despite them agreeing a £72m deal for Nicolas Pepe, according to iNews.
The Gunners have already had an offer of £40m rejected by Crystal Palace for Zaha, with Crystal Palace wanting twice the amount if they are to part with their star winger.
Zaha’s representatives have made it clear that he wants to depart the club this summer, with his brother telling Sky Sports News that it is Wilfried’s dream to play for Arsenal.
He said: “Wilfried will always hold Crystal Palace and their fans in the highest regard and all the support they have given means the world to him.
“It is my brother’s dream, though, to play for Arsenal.
“Given all that Wilfried has given to Crystal Palace to help them remain a Premier League club, I hope Palace will be able to see their way to agreeing a deal with Arsenal that allows Wilfried to realise his dream of playing European football for the club he has supported since childhood.”
Despite the report from iNews, it would be the shock of the summer if Arsenal were to buy both Pepe and Zaha.
Considering that Pepe has cost £72m and Zaha will cost at least that, it would prevent Arsenal from signing anyone else in this transfer window – and they are in need of reinforcements in defence and have been linked to Kieran Tierney all window.
Even though Zaha’s preference appears to be Arsenal, as his brother’s words suggest, it is hard to fathom where Arsenal would get that money from. This report from Sky Sports News claims that Arsenal were able to pay the £72m for Pepe by spreading the payments for him over five years. It also says that they wanted to do the same for Zaha, but that doesn’t interest Palace.
Unless Palace change their mind on that, Zaha is unlikely to be joining the club.
Arsenal signing both Pepe and Zaha just seems like such an unlikely prospect.
Considering both would cost upwards of £70m, it just represents money which Arsenal don’t have.
Even if they did have the money, it’s not even certain that Pepe and Zaha would manage to play with each other. If they did sign both players – and didn’t sell anyone -then it would be ludicrous to assume that you could shoehorn Pepe, Zaha, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang into the same line-up, unless they’re planning on appointing Kevin Keegan in the near future. On the basis of that logic, it doesn’t make sense spending £70m on a player who might not even necessarily fit into the team’s best 11.
