Revealed: the reason Arsenal chose Nicolas Pepe over Wilfried Zaha

By Alasdair Mackenzie
published

Arsenal chose to move for Lille’s Nicolas Pepe over Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha due to the structure of the deal on offer, according to reports.

Nicolas Pepe

The Independent claims that the Gunners are closing in the £72 million capture of Pepe, which will be finalised in the next few days.

Arsenal were put off by the high demands of their Premier League rivals and Zaha’s agent, leaving the former Manchester United forward facing an uncertain future.

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Alasdair Mackenzie

Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.