Unai Emery reveals he wanted Wilfried Zaha over £72m Nicolas Pepe at Arsenal because he felt the Crystal Palace winger would hit the ground running having already played Premier League football

Daily Mail | January 13, 2021

Unai Emery has lifted the lid on why he favoured a move for Wilfried Zaha instead of Nicholas Pepe in his ill-fated spell as Arsenal manager.

Zaha recently revealed just how close he was to joining the Gunners when Emery was boss, only for the club to turn to Nicolas Pepe in a £72m addition from Lille in 2019.

Pepe has struggled to maintain a consistent level since arriving in the Premier League while Zaha is still at Crystal Palace, playing a central role at the club.

Arsenal signed Nicolas Pepe for an astonishing u00a372m from Lille when Unai Emery was manager

But Pepe was not Emery's first choice - the then Arsenal boss wanted to sign Wilfried Zaha

And it is Zaha's proven Premier League record that meant if it was solely up to Emery, he would have signed the Eagles talisman.