By Nicolas Pepe's own standards it's been a difficult season so far. “It has been a tough season for me," he said in an interview during the international break. “It is frustrating not to play. No player enjoys not playing but I have to respect the coach’s decision," he went on to add.
After playing the full 90 minutes in six of Arsenal's opening nine games this season, the Ivorian has not started a single Premier League match since October and has not started a club match of any kind in four months. With just two years remaining on his contract at the end of the season this has prompted speculation that he could leave this summer.
Pepe himself has refused to rule out an exit after reportedly attracting interest from a team in La Liga late in the January window. “I am focused on how well we do until the end of the season and the club’s target, which is getting into the Champions League," he said in an interview last week. "Then we will see what happens." It's a sad state of affairs for a man from whom big things were expected after his record £72million arrival three years ago. So what exactly has gone wrong?
