Arsenal have officially announced that Nicolas Pepe has joined Nice on loan.
The winger travelled to France on Thursday to undergo a medical and complete the deal, which will see him spend the reason of the season at the Ligue 1 side.
There is no option for Nice to make the move a permanent next summer, when Pepe will have just a year remaining on his current Arsenal contract.
While the Gunners would have been keen to sell the 27-year-old this window, there was a lack of options in terms of permanent buyers and the club have had to accept a loan move.
It comes three years after Pepe arrived in north London for £72million from Lille, comfortably making him the club’s record signing.
The Ivorian has struggled to make an impact under Mikel Arteta though, making just five Premier League starts last season and he has not played a single minute this campaign.
Nice have already had a busy summer of transfer activity, with Kasper Schmeichel arriving from Leicester and former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey also joining the French club after leaving Juventus.
