Arsenal legend Ian Wright delivers verdict as Gunners land £72 million Pepe

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Arsenal legend Ian Wright believes his old club have ‘a world-class player’ on their hands in new signing Nicolas Pepe.

The Gunners confirmed the deal on Thursday evening after a breakthrough last week.

BBC Sport report the transfer is costing Arsenal a whopping £72 million, with The Sun saying the bulk of that is to be paid in installments over the next five years.

Pepe’s signing has been met with huge fanfare from Arsenal supporters, after a 23-goal season in 2018/19.

The explosive winger was hugely coveted and Unai Emery will surely be delighted to have beat off the competition.

One man who is particularly excited about the deal is 185-goal club legend Wright.

In a video for his YouTube channel, he said: “This is exceptionally good business. This is unbelievable.

“This is the kind of player that once he settles in, personally, I think we’ve got a world-class player on our hands. And I’m not being over the top.”

“He ticks so many boxes; goals, assists, but for me it’s the directness. We’ve missed that. We’ve missed a player that can take players on one-on-one.”

TBR’s view

Arsenal have indeed done amazing business with the Pepe deal.

To have negotiated a viable deal for a player of that quality without the lure of Champions League football is brilliant from the key Gunners figures involved.

Pepe is a major upgrade on Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi and will no doubt be showcasing that directness regularly for his new team.