Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has praised impending Arsenal arrival Nicolas Pepe, calling for the club to finalise their move for him quickly ahead of next weekend's season opener.
The Ivorian directly contributed towards 33 goals in 38 games for Lille in Ligue 1 last season, with nine of his strikes coming from the penalty spot. The wide forward was behind only Kylian Mbappe in the goalscoring charts, and impressed with his pace and trickery.
Aubameyang recognised this in an interview with beIN Sports, which took place following Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Angers. Having fallen behind, the Gunners equalised through Reiss Nelson and then proceeded to win the penalty shootout 4-3.
As reported by the Metro, Aubameyang said: "When there are great players like that who are close to signing with a great club like Arsenal...it's very pleasant to have a player like that. I hope that he signs quickly and that it gets done."
Despite no official announcement from Arsenal yet, Lille president Gerard Lopez verified Pepe's move to north London. Speaking to RMC Sport, he explained: "He is the one who made the decision. I think it should be (made official) in the next 24 hours. It is £73m fixed. If we pushed this deal out a little bit longer, we could have had five or six offers of the same size.
"Through discussions with Nico and his agents, the situation focused on the certain clubs that we wanted to focus on: the two projects that interested the player."
Pepe will join Gabriel Martinelli, William Saliba and Dani Ceballos (loan) as Arsenal's current summer signings, although Saliba has been loaned back to his former club Saint-Etienne for the season to gain further experience as a first-team starter.
Source : 90min