Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has commented on Arsenal’s slightly risky policy of terminating the contracts of several big-name players during Mikel Arteta’s time as manager.
Writing in the latest edition of his exclusive CaughtOffside column, Romano discussed the latest of those contract terminations, with Nicolas Pepe having his deal cancelled, allowing him to move from Arsenal to Trabzonspor on a free transfer.
The Ivory Coast international was Arsenal’s record signing when he joined from Lille back in 2019, but he never lived up to expectations at the Emirates Stadium, and it’s hardly surprising that he’s now been allowed to leave, even if it’s a bit of a big statement to green light the move without even receiving a fee for the player.
This has happened before with Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Arsenal, but Romano feels the club didn’t really have much of a choice with Pepe, even if he concedes it’s not an ideal policy from a financial point of view.
“Ideally, I’m sure Arsenal would have liked to bring in a fee for Pepe, who was their record signing back in 2019, but in the end his contract was terminated by the club, and it’s not the first time we’ve seen them take this decision since Mikel Arteta became manager, with other big names like Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also leaving in the same way,” Romano wrote.
He added: “I think in some cases it’s the only way to move on and let the player try different experience, while the club can also save money by removing these players’ big wages… of course it’s not an ideal solution from a financial point of view, but in some cases, like this one, there was no other way for Arsenal.”