Arsenal have agreed a club-record fee of £72million with Lille for Ivory Coast winger Pepe.
The 24-year-old was the second top scorer in Ligue 1 last season, only behind Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe.
Fonte has played alongside Pepe since joining Lille in the summer of 2018.
And he has backed him to move to Arsenal and become a firm favourite with the supporters.
“He’s incredible,” Fonte told talkSPORT.
“If he can reach the same level, which I believe he will, that he did last year with Lille then I think Arsenal fans will be very happy.
“He is super quick, he has a left foot which is silky, one v one he is second to none.
“He finishes really good, he takes penalties, he takes free kicks.
“He is a very, very accomplished player and I think Arsenal fans will be in for a treat for sure.”
“This kid is special, no doubt about it, this kid is special. He can get to a very, very high level. He can be one of the best in the world, 100 per cent. I’m confident he has everything in place to get there.
“He has always wanted to play in the Premier League, we used to chat in the dressing room.
“I’m happy for him if it happens, the Premier League is the best league in the world, Arsenal is a great club.
“I am sure he will enjoy London, which is a plus.
“I’m excited to see him play in the Premier League, to be honest.”
Fonte is surprised at Arsenal’s interest in Pepe after initially seeing PSG and Napoli were in for the winger.
And he says Pepe has said nothing to him about what club he has chosen.
“No, he didn’t [say anything], he kept it quiet,” Fonte continued.
“He had so many options, he had so many clubs looking at him.
“I actually didn’t see Arsenal coming, I thought it was other teams.
“I heard more about PSG and I heard about Napoli. I didn’t hear Arsenal until last week.
“Great for him, I always wanted to see him in the Premier League. So it will be exciting.”