After Chelsea made the first big signing of the window by sealing a move for Borussia Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic, who will join up with the Blues in the summer, Arsenal are surely in the clear to sign Nicolas Pepe. WHAT’S THE WORD? Well, Chelsea have shown early on that they mean business in the transfer market this month by signing £58m man Pulisic just one day into the window and the Stamford Bridge faithful are surely over the moon. Another set of fans who are probably equally as happy are those of Chelsea’s north London rivals, Arsenal, whose chances of seeing Pepe in red and white are now significantly boosted. The Ivorian has peaked the interests of both Chelsea and the Emirates outfit, the latter of which have, reportedly, now made him their top target – they were put off by Roma’s valuation of Cengiz Under – as they seek a new winger. Now their chances of making the 23-year-old a Gunner in the coming months are higher than ever before, with Maurizio Sarri and co. spending big on another wide man. RED-HOT PEPE The Lille man has been sensational this season as he chalks up an impressive 12 goals and seven assists in Ligue 1 and surely puts himself on the radar of a number of European giants. Unai Emery has found some success deploying Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the wing but the Gabonese hitman is far more effective down the middle – signing Pepe enables the Spanish boss to deploy his biggest attacking threat in his strongest position more consistently. Meanwhile, a mediocre Henrikh Mkhitaryan and a blunt Alex Iwobi are far from good enough options if the Gunners want to continue their post-Wenger revival and consolidate their status as consistent top four challengers. However, the northern France outfit whom Pepe currently plays his football with value him at around £72m – this could be the only thing standing in Arsenal’s way now Chelsea are out of the picture. Pl>ymaker FC believes Arsenal fans won’t have to wait long to see Unai Emery’s long-term ambitions for the club come to fruition. Watch the video below to find out why… #NicolasPepe #HenrikhMkhitaryan #CengizUnder
