Nicolas Pepe could be handed a route back into Mikel Arteta’s side after the potential sale of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang., which would also open up a new possibility for Gabriel Martinelli.
According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Barcelona and Juventus have made official approaches to sign the 32-year-old on loan until the summer, with Arsenal still pondering on whether to accept the deal.
This deal was reported after the Gunners reportedly reopened talks with Juventus in regards to possibly signing Dejan Kulusevski on loan according to Di Marzio.
If these transfers went through, not only would Pepe potentially benefit from the deal, but it could be the start of Martinelli in the striker position.
The Gunners are in desperate need of a striker as Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah are Mikel Arteta’s only options in the forward positions.
Aubameyang has not played since his disciplinary issues, while Folarin Balogun has gone out on loan to Middlesborough.
Since the start of the January transfer window, Arsenal have only managed to score one goal, which highlights the lack of quality in the forward positions, and the need for solutions.
The obvious avenue to overcome the attacking problem would be to utilize the transfer market and sign a new striker.
Edu pursued a deal for Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic Football.london understands, but a transfer for the striker never materialised as the Serbian decided to join Juventus instead.
With less than a week remaining of the January transfer window it now looks unlikely that the Gunners will sign a striker, and will have to look for solutions with the squad.
Martinelli was never given a good chance to play in the forward role whilst Aubameyng was at the club, but he could now get that chance.
Martinelli has played as a striker before and that was proved during the 2019/20 season against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup when he scored a brace in an end-to-end 5-5 clash.
After full-time, The Reds manager Jurgen Klopp described the Brazilian as being an “Incredible striker.”
The notion of Martinelli being a striker as he continues to grow was echoed by a former Gunners forward Speaking on BT Sport as a pundit , with Robin van Persie believing that they could follow a similar career path.
“The moves he makes, he is always looking for space. I was playing on the wing at that age. With time he will get even better," the Dutchman said.
With Kulusevski coming into the side, it also reduces the possibility that Martinelli has on the wing positions as the Swedish international can cover in those positions.
However a deal for the Swedish international will not be easy to complete as The Athletic has also reported that Tottenham are also working on a loan deal for the 21-year-old.
With Martinelli moving into the striker role, it could also give a pathway for Pepe to get back into the team on the left-hand side.
The Ivorian has been left out of Arteta’s plans but after a successful African Cup of nations on an individual level, he could come back into the side with confidence.
Pepe featured on the left-hand side towards the end of last season and was arguably Arsenal’s best player in the final stretch of the campaign.
An Aubameyang and Kulusevski swap deal has the potential to create new possibilities in the Arsenal squad.
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