Nicolas Pepe’s agent has revealed that five big clubs wanted to sign Pepe but Arsenal convinced him with their ‘ambitious project’.

Nicolas Pepe via Arsenal.com
Nicolas Pepe via Arsenal.com

If this transfer window has done anything it’s shook us clear of thinking we knew how an Arsenal transfer window would go.

Not any more.

Now, Pepe’s agent, Samir Khiat, has given an interview to L’Équipe Mercato (translated by GFFN) that shines some light on what’s going on.

“He was sought after by the biggest clubs in Europe, there were offers from top 5 European clubs,” Khiat said.

“Arsenal have an ambitious project, they want to go to the next level, as you have seen with the names linked to them in recent days, and Nicolas can become a huge part of that.

“For a footballer, faith and belief is everything. We wanted absolute certainty that Nicolas would play. A lot of clubs interested already have their attacking trios set. The main aspect for us today was about thinking what’s best for him… stories about us going where the commission was best is rubbish.”

Nicolas Pepe via Arsenal.com
Nicolas Pepe via Arsenal.com

Names linked with Arsenal recently have included Philippe Coutinho, a rumour that refuses to quit, Dayot Upamecano, Daniele Rugani, and David Luiz to name just a couple.

Who will arrive to help Unai Emery, Raul Sanllehi, Edu and Arsenal’s project?

We won’t have long to wait to find out with Arseblog reporting he believes there will be two arrivals on Thursday.

Ahead of this weekend’s season opener at Newcastle, Khiat said he didn’t know if Pepe would feature.

“I don’t know if he will play on Sunday,” he added. “I am not the coach.

“Nicolas has been very well received, all the players were excited for him to sign. That was an important thing.

“The day after he signed, Pépé had an English teacher to try and make him acclimatise as quickly as possible, little things like that show how much the player was wanted by Arsenal.

“It is the biggest transfer in Arsenal’s history and for African football, there is pressure, but he is prepared.”