Lille president Gerard Lopez claims Nicolas Pepe will be an Arsenal player 'within the next 24 hours' and confirmed he will move for a £72m fee.
Pepe is set to become the Gunners' club record signing and was pictured in an Arsenal shirt in leaked images on Wednesday.
The Ivory Coast winger is expected to pen a five-year deal at the Emirates having undergone a medical - and Lopez says he expects the move to be confirmed imminently.
Numerous clubs were trying to sign the winger, with several bids accepted by the French club and Napoli coming closest to convincing him to sign before Arsenal swooped.
"I think it should be done in the next 24 hours," Lopez told RMC Sport .
"It is €80m fixed, plus some other details.
"In talking with Nico and his agents, things focused on the certain clubs that we wanted to focus on, the two projects that interested the player."
Reports in France have claimed Liverpool were also keen on signing Pepe, with Jurgen Klopp a big admirer of the player.
But talks never reached an advanced stage due to their inability to prove assurances over his role in the side given their attacking stars.
Pepe is believed to have been sold by the "sporting project" at Arsenal, leading to him being set to join Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette in a fearsome front-line under Unai Emery.
The attacker is set to sign in a deal which will be paid in installments over a number of years, making his transfer more affordable for the Gunners given their self-imposed financial restrictions.
The Gunners were in France on Wednesday night, beating Angers 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes.
