Arsenal's three-year pursuit of Christopher Nkunku is set to come to a head this summer.
The Gunners almost signed the Frenchman on loan from Paris-Saint Germain in January 2019 but a move did not materialise.
The north Londoners turned their attention to Denis Suarez from Barcelona instead with the loanee going on to have an unspectacular spell at the Emirates.
Nkunku is a name that hasn't gone away since that deal broke down, especially with how he's performed in an RB Leipzig shirt since leaving PSG in 2019.
Nkunku couldn't force his way into a star-studded PSG side and a player of his quality needed regular football.
Leipzig gave him that chance and he's grabbed it with both hands, becoming one of the most exciting talents in the Bundesliga.
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Nkunku has scored 19 goals in 31 matches in all competitions this season, including a hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League group stages.
The 24-year-old has several clubs chasing his signature and Arsenal are reportedly one of them.
Manchester United are another as Ralf Rangnick, who worked alongside Nkunku at Leipzig, looks to interfere with their Premier League rival's summer plans.
Nkunku still has two years left on his current deal, however, so won't come cheap. The Gunners would ideally get Nicolas Pepe off their books and put the funds from his sale towards the Frenchman.
Pepe has been largely unimpressive since his £72million move from Lille in the summer of 2019, but he has been surplus to requirements this season, throwing his future in doubt.
The Ivorian was linked with the exit in January as Marseille and Lyon were both keen on securing a move for the forward, according to French outlet L'Equipe via GFFN.
It appears Pepe wasn't interested in a return to France as the deadline passed without anything coming to fruition, but with no sign of him getting into Arsenal's side any time soon, it seems a matter of time before Arteta cuts his losses with the forward.
Arteta understands that the 26-year-old needs regular game time, but it's not something he can offer him currently with Bukayo Saka playing ahead of him in his preferred position.
He said: "With the amount of games we're having there's not enough room. With Nico's situation, it's something similar.
"He needs more opportunities to show what he can do and in the last games he hasn't had them. I understand but again I have to try to make the decision based on what I see every day.
"Nico is really willing to help the team. The reality is that in the position that he's playing, Bukayo is there and he has been fantastic."
