Arsenal are desperate to see one player sold this summer, after falling out of favour with Mikel Arteta.Â
Nicolas Pepe joined Arsenal in the summer of 2019 for a fee of £72million which still remains Arsenal’s record transfer fee ever paid for a single player. However that could potentially change this summer with the Gunners pursuing a £100million deal for West Ham captain Declan Rice.
The 28-year-old winger was expected to take the Premier League by storm after signing for Arsenal off the back of a 22 goal season in Ligue One for Lille during the 2018/19 campaign. However the winger struggled to adapt during his first season in England, where he scored only five league goals under Unai Emery.
While he did show some flashes of quality during his second season at the club, where he scored 16 goals in all competitions for the Gunners, Nicolas Pepe failed to show consistent quality. He was then sent out on loan back to France to OGC Nice at the beginning of the 2022/23 campaign.
The Ivorian winger scored six goals in Ligue One this season for Nice, however the French club aren’t interested in signing him on a permanent basis this summer which means the player will return to Arsenal for pre-season ahead of the 2023/23 campaign.
According to the Turkish source Aksam, Nicolas Pepe’s agent has reportedly offered him to Turkish side Fenerbahce, hoping they would be willing to give him another opportunity to showcase his abilities. Arsenal do not want to let the player leave on a free but would accept a relatively small fee compared to what the Gunners paid for the winger in 2019.
Mikel Arteta is ready to let Nicolas Pepe leave on a permanent deal this summer. [Image Credit: Getty Images]
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Nicolas Pepe isn’t apart of Mikel Arteta’s plans going forward with the club looking to sell their record signing for a minimal fee this summer. Arsenal did originally set an asking price of £25million for the Ivorian, however it now appears the Gunners would be willing to accept around £10million to ensure the player is sold ahead of the start of next season.
Pepe only has one year left on his contract with Arsenal with the Gunners even offering him to Premier League clubs who they hope would be willing to match their asking price.
With Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli recently signing new long-term contracts at the club and performing the way they are under Mikel Arteta, it seems impossible to see Nicolas Pepe getting back into the Arsenal side next season. I’m sure Edu and his team will do whatever it takes to see the back of their record signing this summer.
Ex-Arsenal star Emmanuel Eboue recently gave his take on Nicolas Pepe’s situation at Arsenal: “It’s going to be very hard for Nicolas Pepe to get back into this Arsenal team. Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka have had unbelievable seasons, and you know the manager is going to stick with those two players out wide, so Pepe has to work hard when he comes back. He needs to work harder than Martinelli and Saka.”
“I don’t see Mikel Arteta changing those two wingers, so Pepe needs to force himself into Arteta’s thoughts and plans. I’d be really happy to see him at Arsenal next season, though. And I ask that Arteta gives him a chance. When a player like Pepe arrives, for so much money, he needs to play. He needs to prove himself. The club spent a lot of money on him; he was supposed to be a regular player for this team.”
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