Arsenal now set to face £65m star who blew Arteta scouts away following CL draw

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Arsenal have been drawn against Portuguese giants FC Porto in the Champions League, and there are a number of players to watch out for.

Arsenal midfielder Fabio Vieira will be facing his former side, having joined last year, and Mikel Arteta is set to face a player his scouts were very impressed by.

Brazilian winger Pepe has shone for Porto over the last few seasons, and was linked with a move to Arsenal, as well as other Premier League sides including Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle.

Arsenal set to face transfer target Pepe in Champions League

Arsenal were linked with Pepe a year ago, with The Sun reporting that Arsenal scouts were “blown away” when taking a look at him.

His price tag was mooted at a staggering £65m, which put Arsenal off as they then pursued Mykhalyo Mudryk, before then signing Leandro Trossard.

Pepe scored five and assisted 10 times in 55 games across all competitions, and started in every single league game, with his durability proving useful to manager Sergio Conceicao.

Born in Foz Do Iguacu, Brazil, Pepe started out at Gremio before moving to Porto in 2021, and he has since made 118 appearances for Porto, scoring 13 and assisting 19 times.

Why did Arsenal want Pepe from Porto?

Pepe is a right-winger who can also play at right-back, and Arsenal may look to sign a winger to add cover for Bukayo Saka, whilst also adding additional pace to the squad.

They were linked with Wolves star Pedro Neto before he picked up an injury, with Trossard recently being highlighted for his lack of pace when coming on for Gabriel Martinelli as a substitute.

Pepe can play across the front three, in addition to a deeper role at fullback, but has scored just twice in 21 games this season, and this lack of form in front of goal will perhaps rule him out of an Arsenal move.

However, he is certainly a player to keep an eye on over the course of the two-legged tie against Porto, with Arsenal hoping to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2010.

Arsenal beat Porto 6-2 on aggregate that year in the round of 16, and this will be the first meeting between the sides since Nicklas Bendtner scored a hattrick in a 5-0 win at the Emirates Stadium in the second leg.