According to ESPN, Arsenal could have signed Wilfried Zaha instead of Nicolas Pepe in the summer of 2019, but they didn’t due to the structure of the proposed deal.
Back in 2019, Arsenal were ready to spend big on a new attacker. They were linked to a number of big names at the time, and eventually, they settled on signing Pepe for
£72m from Lille, but things could have worked out rather differently.
Indeed, the Gunners could have ended up with Wilfried Zaha instead, but because they could pay the Pepe fee in instalments they chose to sign the former Ligue 1 ace instead.
In hindsight, it’s fair to say that Arsenal got this one wrong.
Zaha has only gone from strength to strength since then. He’s scored 14 Premier League goals this season – more than any other Arsenal player, and he’s been described as ‘unplayable’.
Meanwhile, it looks as though Pepe will be on his way out of the Emirates this summer, and he can barely get a game at Arsenal, starting just five Premier League matches this season, scoring just one goal.
If Arsenal had their time again, perhaps they would have made the move for Zaha rather than Pepe. Yes, it would have been more costly, but three years on, it’s fair to say that Arsenal got the wrong end of the bargain.
Sometimes it’s worth splashing the cash on proven quality rather than taking a gamble on an unknown quantity.
Arsenal could have signed Wilfried Zaha instead of Nicolas Pepe in the summer of 2019, but they didn’t due to the structure of the proposed deal.
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