Nicolas Pepe wants to leave Arsenal this summer and has instructed his agent to find him a new club, football.london understands.
The 27-year-old has struggled for game time this season, contributing just three goals and five assists in 21 appearances for Mikel Arteta's side this season. football.london understands that Pepe will assess his options in the summer and recently hired the services of a new agent as he looks to secure a move away.
Pepe is one of several senior first team players who are seen as dispensable by Arteta, and offers are expected to be entertained for the Ivorian during the upcoming transfer window.
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football.london understands that Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus and Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans are among the shortlisted profiles who could arrive at Emirates Stadium this summer. Jesus in particular remains open to leaving the current Premier League champions, with his representative holding talks with Edu throughout the past few months.
Arsenal first made enquiries for Jesus in November with Edu maintaining a close relationship with the player's agent and the City forward himself. Jesus is expected to get more minutes between now and the end of the season as City look to increase his potential transfer fee, with the Gunners expected to lodge a bid in the region of £35million this summer.
Arsenal technical director Edu has confirmed that he is 'excited' for the club's plans in the summer transfer window. "The budget we used last summer, we prefer to use it to rebalance the squad, there was no point in hiring one or two players [in January], the squad was not prepared to absorb two players, we needed to rebalance the squad," Edu told ESPN Brasil. "Maybe next season we can go to one or two players.
"Today we find a much more balanced squad. Our planning has already been done, it has already reached the owners. It's a matter of step by step, how we are going to finish the season and to put in plan the planning that I'm very excited about."
