Ivory Coast international Pepe scored 22 goals in France's Ligue 1 last year and has previously been linked with the likes of Manchester United and Napoli.

However the 24-year-old is now on the verge of completing a move to the Emirates Stadium.

Any deal is expected to include Arsenal paying in instalments, while the overall fee will eclipse Arsenal's previous record - STG55 million ($A98 million) for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January 2018.

Lille president Lopez said Pepe's decision should be confirmed in the next 24 hours.

"It is 80 million euro fixed. If we pushed this deal out a little bit longer, we could have had five or six offers of the same nature," he told French media outlet RMC Sport on Wednesday.

"In talking with Nicolas and his agents, the discussion centred on a few clubs so we preferred to focus on the projects that interested the player."

Europa League finalists Arsenal have made three signings so far this summer.

Striker Gabriel Martinelli, 18, joined earlier in the window before a season-long loan deal for Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos was announced last week.

The signing of William Saliba from St Etienne was confirmed just hours after Ceballos, but the 18-year-old France youth international will spend the next season back on loan at the Ligue 1 outfit.

A move for Celtic fullback Kieran Tierney is, meanwhile, still in play despite the Scottish champions knocking back two offers from Arsenal, while centre-half Shkodran Mustafi has been linked with a move away.

Australian Associated Press