Nicolas Pepe hopes to follow footsteps of other Ivory Coast players at Arsenal

Nicolas Pepe will follow in some famous footsteps when he makes his first appearance for Arsenal.

The €80m record signing will be the fourth Ivory Coast international to represent Arsenal, emulating Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue and Gervinho.

Toure was one of Arsene Wenger's finest ever signings - a hugely popular figure who arrived as an unknown and became an Invincible - and Pepe has already asked him for advice.

"Kolo Toure was with us on the [Ivory Coast national] squad as an assistant coach [at the Africa Cup of Nations]," Pepe explained.

"He spoke to me a lot about the very high level, how he got to Arsenal and how you always have to work hard and really graft on a daily basis to try and get right to the very top.

"Toure, Eboue and Gervinho are the major players from the Ivory Coast," he added.

"We talk a lot about Gervinho, for example, who played for Lille and ended up at Arsenal, so I am on the same path. They are definitely examples to us young Ivorians and I hope we will continue to follow these examples."