Arsenal to battle Spurs for Lille star following Danny Welbeck injury

Arsenal will rival Tottenham Hotspur for Lille star Nicholas Pepe, according to The Times.

The 23-year-old has excelled for the French side this term racking up an impressive eight goals and five assists in 13 Ligue 1 matches this term.

This has reportedly attracted interest from the north London rivals ahead of the January transfer window.

Gunners boss Unai Emery is looking to add another forward to his squad with Danny Welbeck set to be sidelined for the foreseeable future.

It is still unknown when Welbeck will return for Arsenal.

The England international is recovering after undergoing surgery on an ankle injury picked up against Sporting Lisbon earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Spurs counterpart Mauricio Pochettino hasn’t hidden his desire to bring in new faces after failing to add to his squad in the summer.

Since signing from Angers in 2017, Pepe, who’s an Ivory Coast international, has scored 22 times in 52 matches for Lille.