‘For £20-30m’: Paul Merson claims Arsenal ace that played yesterday will be sold

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Paul Merson has stated that Nicolas Pépé will be sold by Arsenal in January for ‘£20-30 million’, as he told Sky Sports (21/12/21 at 7:15 pm).

The Highbury legend stated, before Pepe could rip it up against Sunderland, that it just hasn’t worked out for the player in north London and he will ‘move on’.

The 26-year-old was handed a rare start during Arsenal’s League Cup encounter against League One Sunderland on Tuesday night – he scored and supplied two assists, as the Gunners progressed through to the semi-finals.

It has been over two years since Arsenal paid a club-record fee of £72 million (Sky Sports) for Pepe’s talents, and to put it simply, it hasn’t worked out for him.

Bukayo Saka, who has come through the club’s academy, has produced performances that many Arsenal fans thought he would deliver.

Merson shared his thoughts on Pepe’s future before yesterday’s game and thinks his time is up.

“I would probably say so (last chance saloon),” said Merson. “I think if they could probably sell him in January, they would sell him. I think he would go and move on if he could.

“He’s just not been consistent enough. I think the ones you have just said in front of him, they have been consistent. That’s what they have been. This lad can be an 8/10 or a 4/10 and as a manager you want someone who wants to be a steady 7 or 7 and a half/10. And you would settle for that.

“Years ago, if you got bought for a lorry load of money, then the pressure was on.

“I think this day and age, you can flop and no-one says a word. Managers used to lose their jobs on a big signing. That doesn’t happen anymore. This lad will move on. They will probably sell him for £20 or 30 million. Lose £30 or 40 million and no-one will say a dickie bird.”

It was Pepe’s 100th appearance for the Gunners last night and during that period he has scored 26 goals.

That’s isn’t too shabby for a wide player that has also struggled for consistent minutes.

But given the money the club paid for him, they expected a lot more and he hasn’t delivered.

The problem Pepe faces now is that even if he is really eager to prove his worth, he’s not going to get the minutes because of the quality in front of him.