Arsenal are reportedly ‘keeping tabs’ on exciting Lille winger Nicolas Pepe, but they face some competition from other major clubs around Europe.

The Mirror write that Arsenal are closely following the wide-man, but Everton have also sent scouts to watch him in the last fortnight. In Spain, Barcelona and Sevilla are tracking the 23-year-old, whilst in France, Lyon saw a £26m bid rejected in the summer transfer window.

Reports last month suggested Arsenal are planning a move for Pepe either in January or next summer. They spoke to the player’s agent to inform him of their interest and set him the task of impressing them.

That’s certainly what the Lille man is doing at the moment. Just eight games into the season, he already has five goals, four assists and a couple of penalties won.

However, it doesn’t look like Pepe himself has any plans to leave mid-season. He told Telefoot that after talking with his advisers he “decided to continue this season at LOSC to accomplish a big mission”.

When further questioned about why he didn’t push for a move to Lyon after their bid, the player responded “I have a career plan. With all the respect I have for OL, it’s not something I wanted to do right away”. Pepe then confirmed that barring an exceptional offer, he will finish the season with Lille.