Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe reportedly took a big pay cut to seal a loan transfer away from the club this summer.
The Ivory Coast international struggled in his time at Arsenal, and it makes sense that he was offloaded this summer, eventually sealing a loan move to Ligue 1 side Nice.
According to French newspaper L’Equipe, as translated by Sport Witness, Pepe decided he was so tempted by Nice that he would take a 25% pay cut to leave the Emirates Stadium for a return to France.
Pepe looked a huge talent at former club Lille, but it just never quite happened for him in the Premier League, much to Arsenal’s dismay.
The Gunners invested huge money in Pepe back in 2019, with the Ivorian costing a club-record £72million fee, according to BBC Sport‘s report at the time.
Pepe had some moments of magic in the famous red and white of Arsenal, but he just wasn’t consistent enough, and ended up losing his place to younger attacking players like Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli.