The wheels are now in motion to end Nicolas Pepe’s frustrating spell at Arsenal, with the club’s record signing reportedly instructing his agent to secure him a new club, according to football.london.
Pepe arrived at the Emirates Stadium in the summer of 2019, for a club-record fee of £72m per BBC Sport. However, it has sadly been a case of flagship failure rather than frontline star and the Ivorian now finds himself left to cameo appearances off the bench.
Football.London report that the 26-year-old recently hired a new agent as he eyes an exit from the Gunners, and it’s added that offers are expected to be entertained for Pepe, who is clearly not the right flavour for Mikel Arteta based on his lack of action this season.
Pepe has only started eight of his 22 outings across all competitions this term, experiencing lengthy spells watching from the sidelines over the campaign.
It became abundantly clear after Pepe’s first two seasons with the Gunners that the tricky winger was not the Prince that was promised, but he at least saw the field as a starter for the most part, whereas now it seems like the hierarchy and Arteta’s confidence in the forward has run out.
Pepe has now plummeted down the pecking order whilst younger attackers like Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli have enjoyed growing roles within the team.