Real Madrid agree deal with Ajax for Pogba alternative, Dybala to be forced out as Juventus agree terms with Lukaku and more: Transfer Roundup, 2 August 2019

By Shambhu Ajith

Modified Aug 02, 2019 13:21 GMT

Arsenal announce the signing of Nicolas Pepe

So, the wait is over! 👍But we want to know, how did you react when we finally announced Pepe? 😅🇨🇮 #PepeIsHere ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/EkLcfKzjaf
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 1, 2019

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The sensational Ivory Coast international who was outscored only by Kylian Mbappe in the Ligue 1 last term has joined Arsenal as part of a deal that is nothing short a statement of intent from the Gunners. The Gunners snatched him up amid overwhelming interest from the likes of Liverpool and Napoli.

Unai Emery sounded real pleased with the signing, saying:

"Nicolas is a highly-rated and talented winger who was wanted by many of the top teams in Europe.

"Signing a top-class winger has been one of our key objectives in this transfer window and I'm delighted he's joining. He will add pace, power and creativity, with the aim of bringing more goals to our team."

After completing his move to Arsenal, Pepe said,

"Being here is very emotional because it has not been easy for me. I have come a long way and struggled a lot and so signing for this great club is a big reward.

"It was important to make the right decision and I am convinced that Arsenal is the right choice."

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram