In recent years we’ve seen that Arsenal were reluctant to spend big money on signings, but then Nicolas Pepe came along.
The BBC reported that Arsenal paid a club record fee of £72m to sign the Ivorian from Lille, but he’s not lived up to that price tag yet.
It’s hard to say if Arsenal are lacking the funds to make a similar signing or are scared to make another expensive mistake, but it sounds like it could cost them when it comes to signing Ousmane Dembele.
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According to a report from The Sun, Arsenal and Liverpool are both looking to sign the Frenchman from Barcelona.
Interestingly they say that although he cost £130m when they signed him, Barca would actually be willing to let him go for only £70m.
That does suggest his stock has fallen and his poor form and injury should be a concern, but the report also indicates that Arsenal wouldn’t be willing to pay that much.
It’s easy to believe that they just have too many concerns to justify paying that much for a player who hasn’t done much in a couple of seasons, but that stance could leave the door open for Liverpool.
In many ways the move to Anfield might suit him better if he’s willing to accept another back up role. He could play anywhere across the front three and does have proven quality, but there wouldn’t be as much pressure and he would also join a successful team.
It certainly sounds like Barcelona want rid of him, it just remains to be seen how much of the £130m fee they can recoup.