Arsenal ‘looking into £72m signing of Nicolas Pepe as club look to overhaul recruitment strategy’ 

Arsenal are reportedly investigating their £72million signing of Nicolas Pepe from Lille last summer as club officials attempt to overhaul their recruitment strategy. 

The winger arrived at the Emirates Stadium with big expectations after the Gunners parted with the eye-watering sum – a club-record fee – for his signature, but he struggled at the start of the campaign.

Officials, led by technical director Edu, are now looking to determine whether they overspent on the Ivory Coast star as they ramp up plans to improve their transfer operations in a bid to avoid making the same mistakes, according to ESPN. 

Nicolas Pepe suffered a tough start to his Arsenal career after arriving for £72m last summer

Arsenal are said to be looking into the deal as part of a bid to overhaul their transfer strategy

A number of scouts have left the club, including Francis Cagigao, Brian McDermott and Brian Clark, with the north Londoners being forced to let staff go amid financial difficulties posed by the coronavirus pandemic. 

There is no feeling of regret at bringing Pepe to the club, the report adds, but Arsenal are seeking to find out why they committed to splashing out so much when the hierarchy have been renowned for tight control over finances.

The 25-year-old had a huge list of suitors last year after sparkling 2018-19 campaign that saw him score 23 goals from midfield, but it’s believed many of those interested parties were left staggered by the amount Arsenal ended up paying for him.

Former boss Unai Emery is said to have favoured bringing Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha to the club, but the Eagles wanted a similar fee up front, while Lille were willing to receive around £20m initially with the rest in instalments. 

He arrived with massive expectation put on him having scored 23 goals for Ligue 1 side Lille 

The Ivory Coast star improved under Mikel Arteta and finished the campaign with eight goals 

Arsenal have come under pressure after their decision to make 55 members of staff redundant amid issues around COVID-19, but have signed former Chelsea star Willian on wages of around £220,000 per week, while star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is also being lined up for a major new deal. 

As a result, the Gunners will be keen to ensure they limit their spending elsewhere and protect their funds during an uncertain period.  

Pepe ended the season with a modest return of eight goals and eight assists as he made improvements under new boss Mikel Arteta having struggled to adapt under Emery. 

He started a total of 29 games across the campaign but initially struggled to show off his potential as he scored just one league goal in the first few months of the season.