Speaking to Stadium Astro, The Athletic’s James McNicholas has claimed that Arsenal would be open to selling Nicolas Pepe this summer, but he says he would be sold for a substantial loss.
Pepe, at £72m, remains Arsenal’s club-record signing, but due to poor form and the emergence of some incredibly talented young players, the Ivorian has fallen out of favour at the Emirates.
Pepe is reportedly frustrated by this situation, and he could be leaving at the end of the season.
With the Gunners once again looking to revamp their squad this summer, McNicholas is led to believe that Pepe could be out the door, but sadly, Arsenal will have to take a pretty hefty loss if they’re to sell him now.
What’s been said?
McNicholas spoke about Pepe’s future.
“I think the club would be open to that (selling Pepe) at this point. It hasn’t really worked for Pepe, but they’d have to accept a pretty substantial loss. £72m they paid Lille for him. I don’t think they’d get anywhere close to that at this point, his stock has fallen significantly since then. The only glimmer of hope for a player like Pepe is the 5-sub rule that comes in next season. You wonder if he’d get on in more of these games if Arsenal have those extra substitutes,” McNicholas said.
Worth doing
Taking a massive loss on any player will sting, but in this situation, getting Pepe off the books is worth doing.
The Ivorian will be on big wages, and if there’s no use for him at the Emirates, it’s surely time for him to go.
Then again, Pepe has been described as ‘terrific’ by Mikel Arteta in the past, so the Arsenal boss may still have a use for him.
One problem Arsenal may have is finding a buyer. There really isn’t much of a market for players on £140,000-a-week who have only scored one Premier League goal this season.
A substantial loss would have to be taken if Arsenal sell Pepe, but that’s only if they can manage to find someone to take him off of their hands.
Perhaps a loan move could instead be on the cards here.
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