Arsenal are ready to cut their losses when it comes to Nicolas Pepe and sell the Ivorian winger for around £25m this summer, according to The Sun.
Despite showing promise at the back end of last season, Pepe has failed to kick on in an Arsenal shirt and now looks set to leave the club. The Sun claims Mikel Arteta wants Edu to sell Pepe in order to help fund a summer transfer spree of his own.
Pepe is thought to be on around the £140k-a-week mark at the Gunners. His wages, coupled with the £25m asking price set by Arsenal, would go some way to helping new faces come through the door in the summer.
The Ivory Coast winger joined Arsenal in a whopping £72m deal from Lille. However, since then, he’s never quite got going and there has been notable frustration from fans and pundits alike. A move away, then, seems to be the most logical solution for all involved as it stands.
Pepe himself is also believed to be frustrated with his lack of minutes. He has seen a number of young players jump the pecking order in front of him, with the likes of Martinelli and Smith Rowe now ahead.
TBR’s View: Nicolas Pepe Needs To Leave Arsenal
This has rumbled on for too long now and the time has come for Pepe to leave Arsenal. It’s the best thing for the club, best thing for him, and the fans as well.
He can’t help that the club paid more than £70m for him. But what he can help is sub-par performances which haven’t given Arsenal anything back for that outlay.
We’ve seen Arteta be ruthless with players already. It’s little surprise, then, that Pepe is being given the boot.
