‘MAY NOT PLAY FOR ARSENAL AGAIN’: Arsenal really disappointed with their £140,000-a-week player – May follow the likes of AUBAMEYANG out
Mike Arteta’s Arsenal are disappointed by the failure of Nicolas Pepe at the Emirates Stadium, according to journalist Jonathan Johnson in CaughtOffSide.
The reporter has claimed that Arsenal feel let down by the winger, who has failed to do much of note at the Gunners and is now out on loan.
The £140,000-a-week (The Sun) Ivory Coast international joined French club Nice on loan from Arsenal in the summer of 2022.
The 27-year-old has made 14 starts and two substitute appearances in Ligue 1 for Nice so far tis season.
Pepe has scored six goals in those matches.
The winger has scored two goals in six UEFA Europa Conference League this campaign.
ARSENAL DISAPPOINTED IN NICOLAS PEPE
Johnson said: “I can’t say with any certainty that there was anything like an internal enquiry about over-spending on the player, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did feel a bit short-changed.
“There’s no doubt Pepe had his problems at Arsenal, and I think it’s clear that that’s more down to mentality than ability.
“He’s a very talented footballer, but if you don’t take your development seriously and take care of yourself in the correct way day after day, then it’s very difficult, especially at a club like Arsenal, to give them what they need, so I think that’s why they feel very let down by that transfer.
“There’s perhaps an interesting parallel with Mykhaylo Mudryk – Arsenal seemingly had him lined up, Shakhtar kept insisting on quite a high asking price, higher than Arsenal valued the player, and had that been a couple of years ago I think Arsenal might have caved to those demands, as they did with Pepe.
“And we’re seeing now that Mudryk seems to be having some teething problems at Chelsea, he’s been slow to settle and hasn’t really made any impact yet.
“Arsenal were always at the front of the queue with Pepe, but had he perhaps stayed at Lille for a year longer we’d have seen him go somewhere different, but that Lille project is all about extracting the biggest transfer fee possible for their best players, so given that Arsenal gave them what they wanted, that’s why the move happened.”
NO FUTURE AT THE GUNNERS
In our view, Nicolas Pepe does not have a future at Arsenal.
That Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta decided to send the winger out on loan last summer makes it clear that he does not rate him.
We do not expect Pepe to play for Arsenal again.
The winger is out of contract at the Gunners in the summer of 2024.
We should not be surprised if Arsenal decide to sell Pepe in the summer of 2023.
