Sky Sports pundit Guillem Balague has confirmed that Premier League giants Arsenal have approached Lille for forward Nicolas Pepe with a view to a move when the transfer window reopens in January.

The report from footballtalk revealed that the Gunners have been told that only a bid of €50m (£43m) would be enough to secure his signing from the French Ligue 1 side.

Ivorian international star Pepe has been in impressive form for Lille in the 2018/19 league season.

He has scored eight goals and provided seven assists in 13 Ligue 1 appearances for Lille and his sensational output has propelled his team into the top three on the league table.

His suitors Arsenal are in the market for a new forward following the serious injury sustained by Danny Welbeck.

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The 27-year-old England international player suffered a season-ending injury in the Europa League outing with Sporting Lisbon at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night.

Welbeck broke his right ankle during the game which ended goalless on Thursday night.

He has since undergone two surgeries to correct the problem that will see him miss the majority of what’s left of this season.

Several forwards have been linked with the North Londoners as a possible replacement for the injured Welbeck.

North London giants Arsenal could return to German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund for one of their prized asset when the transfer window reopens in the New Year.

According to a publication from tbrfootball, the Gunners are interested in a move for young French centre back Dan-Axel Zagadou.

The 6ft 5in defender joined Borussia Dortmund from French champions Paris Saint Germain having come through the Academy at the French capital club.

He has started the new Bundesliga season in impressive fashion and has contributed immensely to the Champions League campaigners’ rise to the top of the league table.

Zagadou has made more interceptions (18) than any other player in the top five European leagues according to renowned statistics website Whoscored.

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Arsenal had earlier poached talent spotter Sven Mslintat from Borussia Dortmund at the end of last year before signing Gabonese international star Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang from the same club.

The Gunners paid a club record fee of around £57m to secure his signing from the Bundesliga leaders in the penultimate transfer window in January.

The record signing was followed by another transfer from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.

Greek international defender Sokratis Papasthopoulos joined Arsenal from the German club following the agreement of a £17m deal between both parties.

North London giants Arsenal have received a huge boost in their pursuit of Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele following the news that Premier League top four rivals Liverpool have pulled out of the race to secure his signing ahead of the January transfer window.

The 21-year-old has been previously linked with a transfer to several Premier League giants.

English top flight sides like Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool have been mooted as possible destinations for the France World Cup winner.

Dembele was an integral part of the 23-man French squad that emerged victorious at the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament in the summer.

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France won a second World Cup title at the tournament in Russia courtesy a 4-2 victory over surprise finalists Croatia in their final meeting in Moscow.

The news of the Reds’ withdrawal from the race to sign the young Barcelona star was confirmed by trusted English media outlet Daily Mirror.

It was revealed that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is happy with his attacking options and won’t be moving to sign the Frenchman.

The Reds already have an array of attacking options including Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Daniel Sturridge, Mohamed Salah, Divock Origi, Dominic Solanke and summer signing Xerdan Shaqiri.

Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud has stated that he was ordered to leave his former North London side in the 2017 summer by God.

Giroud who did not enjoy his last days at the Emirates Stadium owing to his unsatisfactory performance revealed how difficult life was for him at Arsenal before he moved to the other side of London.

The Frenchman was unhappy that he was already replaced before he was gone after former Gunners manager Arsene Wenger signed Alexandre Lacazette from French outfit Lyon.

Giroud who was threatened with the arrival of his fellow countryman stated that he had to pray for a direction on how to go about it before he was asked to leave.

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However, the World Cup winner has failed to impress since joining the Stamford Bridge but he is positive that he made the right decision to move away.

Giroud has not delivered convincingly as a striker this term in terms of goals but manager Maurizio Sarri has expressed delight with the player stating that the former Arsenal man has helped the team with his assist.

Meanwhile, Giroud expresses delight to be playing alongside Belgium star Eden Hazard as he described him as the best player in the world.

Man United defender Eric Bailly could be on his way out of the club in the upcoming transfer window scheduled to start as from January 1.

The Ivorian international centre-back has fallen out of favour with manager Jose Mourinho in the new campaign thus leading to reports of a transfer away from the Theatre of Dreams.

He has featured in just seven games in all competitions in this campaign, including five Premier League games.

According to the publication from the Daily Record via caughtoffside, two North London giants could go head-to-head for him.

Arsenal and North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur have been repeatedly linked with a move for the former Villareal and Espanyol player.

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It remains to be seen whether Manchester United would be willing to sanction his sale to one of their rivals for the top four places in the Premier League.

Jose Mourinho is said to be keen to move him and Argentine international star Marcos Rojo on in a bid to free up space for a new centre back signing during the upcoming transfer window in January.

Players like Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, Inter Milan star Milan Skriniar and Tottenham Hotspur centre back Toby Alderweireld have all been linked with the Red Devils.

Bavarian giants Bayern Munich have emerged as overwhelming favourites to sign Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey at the end of his contract in North London.

According to the report from the Independent via the Daily Star, the German champions have made a breakthrough in talks with his representatives and are confident that they have won the race to sign the highly coveted player.

Bayern Munich are among a host of European heavyweights interested in the 27-year-old.

Inter Milan, Juventus, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and AC Milan have also been mooted as possible destinations for the Welsh international playmaker.

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Aaron Ramsey is the longest serving player in the Arsenal squad after over a decade at the club but his time in North London is almost up following the Gunners’ decision to withdraw their contract offer for him in September.

He has made over 300 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions.

Ramsey was a regular under former manager Arsene Wenger but he has seen his playing time reduce drastically under the new managerial regime of Unai Emery who was appointed as the Arsenal manager in the summer.

Despite his reduced game time for the team, Aaron Ramsey has scored once and provided four assists in the new league campaign.

2006 Champions League finalists Arsenal have to see off competition from Italian Serie A giants AS Roma in their bid to sign Real Madrid forward Lucas Vazquez when the transfer window reopens in the New Year.

According to the publication from popular English media platform Daily Star, Arsenal are ready to make a move for the Spanish international player in January.

Lucas Vazquez is said to be frustrated with his lack of playing time at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu and is open to a move away from the club.

The 27-year-old Real Madrid Academy graduate is behind the quintet of Isco, Marco Asensio, Gareth Bale, Mariano and Karim Benzema for the forward positions at the club.

A bid of around £26m would be enough to prise him away from the Spanish capital club according to the aforementioned publication.

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He could be a direct replacement for injured Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck.

England international player Welbeck is almost certain to miss the rest of the season after he broke his ankle last week Thursday.

He sustained the injury during the Europa League home game against Portuguese Super League giants Sporting Lisbon at the Emirates Stadium.

The Group E clash ended in a goalless draw.

North London giants Arsenal have reportedly turned to Argentine international winger Cristian Pavon in their bid to find a replacement for the injured Danny Welbeck in their squad.

According to the report from the Daily Express via theweek, Arsenal’s head of recruitment Sven Mslintat is eyeing a move for the 22-year-old ahead of the upcoming transfer window scheduled to start as from the 1st of January.

Cristian Pavon plays for Argentine giants Boca Juniors at the moment.

He has repeatedly been linked with a move to North London.

Pavon was linked with a transfer to Arsenal in the summer after he shone for Argentina at the World Cup tournament in Russia.

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He was part of the Argentina squad that failed to impress at the World Cup.

Pavon and Argentina were dumped out of the tournament in the first knockout stage after they were beaten 4-3 by eventual winners France.

Cristian Pavon would be a direct replacement for the injured Danny Welbeck.

Former Sunderland and Manchester United player Welbeck will miss at least six months after he broke his ankle during the Europa League clash with Sporting Lisbon at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night.

He suffered the injury in the first half of the encounter which ended goalless.

Premier League giants Arsenal came close to signing Besiktas defender Domagoj Vida during the summer’s transfer according to various media reports.

Vida was one of the standout performers for the Croatia squad that surprisingly reached the final of this summer’s FIFA World Cup tournament in Russia before they were beaten 4-2 by eventual winners France in their final clash in Moscow.

According to the report from Turkish media portal Aksam via thesportswitness, Arsenal offered €12m for Vida but Besiktas wanted more from the Gunners.

The Turkish Super League giants were said to have requested for Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina in addition to the transfer fee offered by the North London giants.

Arsenal didn’t grant their request thereby prompting the collapse of the transfer.

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Colombian international shot-stopper Ospina went on to join Italian Serie A giants Napoli on a season-long loan deal until next summer, while the Turkish side beefed up their goalkeeping options with the addition of German goalkeeper Loris Karius.

Karius joined Besiktas on a season-long loan deal from Merseyside giants Liverpool.

Domagoj Vida joined Besiktas from Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv in January on a free transfer and the club would still look to sell him when the transfer window reopens so as to make a profit on him.

Arsenal will have to fend off Premier League moneybags Manchester City in their pursuit of highly rated defender Junior Firpo ahead of the upcoming transfer window scheduled to start as from the 1st of January.

Junior Firpo currently plays his club football for Spanish La Liga side Real Betis.

According to the publication from trusted Spanish media portal AS, Arsenal will have to battle with the Premier League champions to determine who will secure the signature of the £43.5m rated player.

The 22-year-old player has impressed for the Europa League campaigners since the start of the new campaign.

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Junior Firpo is of Dominican Republic descent but he has already represented the Spanish national team at the U21 level.

He could be the answer to the Gunners’ troublesome left-back position as manager Unai Emery continues to search for quality signings to beef up his squad.

Arsenal have already used six players at the left-back position this season and this is mainly due to the various injuries sustained by the first choice pair of Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac.

Apart from the two players, the likes of Granit Xhaka, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Carl Jenkinson and summer signing Stephan Lichtsteiner have all played at left-back for Arsenal this season.