Nicolas Pepe is delighted to be an Arsenal player after clinching a £72 million move from Lille but he is fully aware of the club’s history and those who paved the way for him.
Namely Kolo Toure, his compatriot who left an indelible mark during his time in north London as an ‘Invincible’ and after interest from Napoli, Gunners fans can thank their former player for helping to convince their new record signing to head to the Emirates instead of the San Paolo.
Pepe has explained how regular conversations with Toure from their time together with the Elephants, where the latter was an assistant coach, helped convince him that Arsenal was where he needed to be to reach “the very top”.
“They (Toure, Emanuel Eboue and Gervinho) are the major players from the Ivory Coast,” Pepe told the official Arsenal website. “We talk a lot about Gervinho, for example, who played for Lille and ended up at Arsenal so I am on the same path.
“They are definitely examples to us young Ivorians and I hope we will continue to follow these examples.
1/12 Arsenal 2019/20
Possible starting XI
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2/12 GK
Bernd Leno
Action Plus via Getty Images
3/12 RB
Hector Bellerin
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4/12 CB
Rob Holding
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5/12 CB
Sokratis Papastathopoulos
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6/12 LB
Kieran Tierney (TBC)
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7/12 CM
Granit Xhaka
Action Images via Reuters
8/12 CM
Matteo Guendouzi
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9/12 CM
Dani Ceballos
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10/12 RW
Nicolas Pepe
AFP
11/12 LW
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Reuters
12/12 ST
Alexandre Lacazette
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1/12 Arsenal 2019/20
Possible starting XI
Getty
2/12 GK
Bernd Leno
Action Plus via Getty Images
3/12 RB
Hector Bellerin
Getty
4/12 CB
Rob Holding
Getty Images
5/12 CB
Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Getty
6/12 LB
Kieran Tierney (TBC)
Getty
7/12 CM
Granit Xhaka
Action Images via Reuters
8/12 CM
Matteo Guendouzi
Getty Images
9/12 CM
Dani Ceballos
AFP/Getty
10/12 RW
Nicolas Pepe
AFP
11/12 LW
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Reuters
12/12 ST
Alexandre Lacazette
Getty
“Yes (I received advice from them), especially Kolo Toure, who was with us on the [national] squad as an assistant coach.
“He spoke to me a lot about the very high level, how he got to Arsenal and how you always have to work hard and really graft on a daily basis to try and get right to the very top.”
Edu unveils Pepe as an Arsenal player (Getty)
Pepe could make his debut in the Joao Gamper Trophy on Sunday when Unai Emery’s side travel to the Nou Camp to take on Barcelona in the traditional pre-season match.
If Sunday proves too soon, then Pepe will surely be involved in the Premier League opener against Newcastle on 11 August.
