Arsenal look poised to swoop for Wilfried Zaha at the end of his current Crystal Palace contract, eyeing the Ivorian on a free
(Image credit: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Arsenal are set to move for Wilfried Zaha this summer, as the Crystal Palace forward comes to the end of his current contract.
30-year-old Zaha will become a free agent at the end of the current campaign, seeing the bumper deal that he penned in 2018 finally expire. Over that time, Crystal Palace have reportedly fended off plenty of interest in their Ivorian talisman – most notably from Arsenal, themselves.
Now, French outlet Foot Mercato says that the Gunners have rekindled interest, four years after signing Nicolas Pepe instead of Zaha when they had the chance.
Nicolas Pepe joined Arsenal – and not Wilf Zaha (Image credit: Getty)
Back in 2019, the forward was reportedly high up on the shortlist to join the Gunners. Ultimately, the decision was made to sign Nicolas Pepe instead – much to the frustration of the manager at the time.
"We signed Pepe," Unai Emery told The Guardian "He’s a good player but we didn’t know his character and he needs time, patience.
"I favoured someone who knew the league and wouldn’t need to adapt. Zaha won games on his own: Tottenham, Manchester City, us. Incredible performances. I told them: ‘This is the player I know and want.’
"I met Zaha and he wanted to come. The club decided Pepe was one for the future. I said: ‘Yes, but we need to win now and this lad wins games.’ He beat us on his own."
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Unai Emery met with Wilf Zaha – and nearly signed him for Arsenal (Image credit: Getty)
After coming through the ranks at Palace, Zaha moved to Manchester United in 2013 – but returned two years later. The Mail have reported that the forward has turned down multiple contract offers to remain at Selhurst Park, making a move this summer extremely likely.
Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.
