Nicolas Pepe is reportedly keen on cutting his nightmare stint at Arsenal short amid transfer interest from France.
Pepe became the Gunners record signing when he arrived in north London from Lille in a £72million deal back in the summer of 2019, but the 27-year-old has struggled to live up to expectations at the Emirates Stadium and has been linked with a cut-price exit in recent weeks.
And the Ivory Coast international appears to be on the brink of a return to France after Mikel Arteta left Pepe out of the Arsenal squad for Saturday evening's trip to Bournemouth in the wake of substantial interest from Nice.
According to The Athletic, Pepe is keen on leaving the club as the Gunners continue to discuss a season-long loan deal with Nice, who are eager to acquire the winger's services for the upcoming season.
Pepe has netted just 27 times in 112 appearances since moving to Arsenal and has become a peripheral figure under Arteta in recent months. The former Lille man had failed to feature in either of Arsenal's two Premier League matches so far this term before he was excluded from the squad that made the trip to the south coast on Saturday evening.
After reports of Nice's interest broke before the weekend, Arteta hinted that Pepe was poised to leave the club before the transfer deadline on September 1 on Friday, but refused to confirm that anything was imminent.
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Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the Spaniard said: “What we can communicate we always do when it’s the right moment. We discussed that we have a big squad and we’ve made some decisions and allowed some players to leave. Until the end of the window it’s possible that anything can happen with any player.”
Arsenal have strengthened their squad significantly once again this summer in a bid to end their multi-year absence from the Champions League, but the club are still in the market for another wide player. However, any deal was expected to hinge on the future of Pepe.
In the wake of Pepe's uncertain future, the Gunners have been linked with a string of potential attacking targets who could replace the underwhelming star, including Villarreal's teenage hotshot Yeremy Pino.
Speculation linking the 19-year-old winger to the Emirates has intensified in recent weeks, and it's believed that rumoured financial issues could force Villarreal into cashing in on the wideman for far less than his reported €80 million (£67.5m) release clause.
