Pep Guardiola exposes possible £59m Serie A transfer for Arsenal amid Nicolas Pepe crunch talks

Manchester City have opened the door for the ideal Nicolas Pepe replacement in Rafael Leao. It seemed the Portuguese star had opted to sign a new contract with his current club AC Milan, but the reported interest from City highlights that he could be available.

According to Italian news outlet Calciomercato, Jorge Mendez has told Milan to expect an offer from an English club for his client Leao this summer. With the Premier League side reportedly being Manchester City.

This comes after Arsenal reportedly registered interest earlier in the season as Italian outlet La Repubblica claimed that Arsenal had turned their attention to the AC Milan forward for the summer transfer window. It is a deal that Edu could look to revisit, as Arsenal could be short in the wing positions going into next season.

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There’s an extra incentive for the Gunners to sign him after Leao also revealed his admiration for Thierry Henry on social media recently. The Milan forward posted a surf emoji when referring to Henry’s excellent performance against Real Madrid for Arsenal in the 2006 edition of the Champions League.

The Portuguese attacker has 13 goals and seven assists for Milan this season, and would certainly add more quality to Arsenal’s frontline. What makes him more of a desirable signing is that he can feature on either the wing positions or as a lone forward, which highlights his versatility.

His best position, however, is the inside forward position from the left-hand side which fits perfectly into Mikel Arteta’s system. Gabriel Martinelli has featured in a similar for the Spaniards and has been thriving for the Gunners.

Pepe’s