Former Arsenal player Nicolas Pepe has joined La Liga club Villarreal on a two-year deal.

When he first joined Arsenal, the footballer was expected to do great things, but he found it difficult to live up to the hype.

After spending just a year in Turkey with Trabzonspor, Pepe secured a deal with Spanish team Villarreal, signing a two-year contract as a free agent.

Before his contract was terminated last summer, the 29-year-old scored 27 goals in 112 appearances over his four years at the Emirates after joining the Gunners for a then-club-record price of £72 million from Lille in 2019.

Villarreal, who finished eighth in the league last season, would be hoping Pepe can find his form that made him one of the best attacking players in Europe when he was at Lille.

The winger’s ability to score goals as well as create chances for his teammates and his ability to play in a number of positions could help the Spanish club next season.

The club has officially confirmed the transfer and now the fans will be hoping they can see the attacker shine in La Liga.

Nicolas Pépé firma por dos temporadas, hasta junio de 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣ pic.twitter.com/T3FA2DqkEF

— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) August 4, 2024

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Pepe considered early retirement because of the criticism he faced at Arsenal.

In an interview with L’Equite, as quoted by the Daily Mail, he said:

‘It was almost harassment. I don’t look at social media much, but if my brother told me “this is what they said about you”, it would affect me unconsciously.

‘It also came from the media or from certain members of the club. They don’t realise that it can affect the mental state, the family and it affects performance.

‘The only people who have always supported me are the Arsenal fans.’

Arsenal have learned their lesson from Nicolas Pepe failure

Arsenal fans have now moved on from Pepe’s horror spell at the Emirates Stadium, but they too, would be hoping that the player can reignite his career away from the spotlight of the media and constant criticism.

The player is 29-years-old and he still has a long time left in his career to show everyone that he can perform at the top level.

The Gunners made a huge loss on their investment and their transfer business since then has shown they have acted smartly in the market.

The post Arsenal flop starts new chapter in La Liga to revive his declining career appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Former Arsenal misfit Nicolas Pepe has aimed a little dig at expensive Chelsea and Manchester United flops Mykhailo Mudryk and Antony following his own struggles during his time in the Premier League.

Pepe joined Arsenal in the summer of 2019 in what looked at the time like a hugely exciting move after his dazzling performances at former club Lille, but he ended up being remembered as a majorly over-priced under-performer.

Pepe is still Arsenal’s second most expensive signing ever, as per Transfermarkt, but he’s now without a club this summer and has spoken to BBC Sport about being open to a return to an English club, whilst also naming Mudryk and Antony as similar pricey flops who haven’t attracted quite the same levels of criticism.

Arsenal fans will no doubt have been disappointed by Pepe’s lack of impact at the Emirates Stadium, though they’ve made some slightly smarter signings since then that have worked out a lot better.

Pepe transfer dig at Mudryk and Antony

Discussing his difficult time at Arsenal, Pepe said: “If Arsenal bought me for £20m, maybe it’d be different. It’s not the player’s fault.

“They don’t ask for £100m or £90m. But that’s how it is in the football world and it’s something that people can’t understand.

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“There are also players like Mudryk and Antony who don’t perform at their best all the time, and yet they’re not bad players.”

He added: “We listen to all offers, and then it’s my representatives who’ll let me know a club’s real intentions, and if it’s not a serious offer, I don’t hear about it. Let’s see what happens. But I’m not ruling out a return to England.”

The post Arsenal flop aims dig at pricey Chelsea & Man Utd signings as he hints at Premier League return appeared first on CaughtOffside.

In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Aston Villa attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including why Kevin De Bruyne’s Saudi Arabian u-turn is a real fillip for Man City, why Liverpool fans need to be careful what they wish for, why Kylian Mbappe needs to be humble, why Mikel Arteta could still be at Arsenal even if they don’t win the EPL title for 10 years and which team has had the best transfer window so far. 

—

Kevin De Bruyne’s decision is a real fillip for Man City

I think that the Saudi Pro League would look at anybody that would push any progressive football club forward, hence their interest in Kevin De Bruyne.

It also goes to show that, along with Ederson, this Man City squad is starting to age a little bit, because I think that Mbappe is probably the only player where the Saudi clubs have come in to try to tempt someone at their peak.

Even below his peak, Kevin De Bruyne is that sort of totemic experienced figure who’s quietly assured and who, without a doubt, you’d want in your dressing room.

So it’s a compliment in one way to the player, even before you take into account the generational wealth that he’d be likely to earn in Saudi Arabia.

De Bruyne has had his injury problems but I think he’ll definitely provide more competition at Man City this year as they aim for another title.

It’d be very interesting to see whether Pep Guardiola does leave at the end of the season, or whether he signs a new contract and stays for another cycle too.

Regardless, with Kevin De Bruyne in the team, it’s a massive fillip for Manchester City as a football club to keep their best player.

Liverpool supporters should be careful what they wish for

Liverpool fans are unhappy at the club’s lack of transfer business this summer, but what seems to happen with progressive coaches, and I saw it with Unai Emery when he came to Aston Villa, is that they’ll have a really good look at the academy and at who’s loaned out first.

I think that the fundamentals with Liverpool at this point are fairly similar to Villa in terms of Arne Slot wanting to assess what he’s got, and that’s not just in the first team squad.

Liverpool, historically, have been good at producing players and Slot will want to have a look at them all together before going to the technical board and saying ‘I need a right back, I need a central midfielder, I need a wide left player,’ – and I think that’s the best way to do it.

Liverpool fans ranting and raving on X don’t quite understand that the new manager almost has to have an inventory or a stock take first to see who’s good enough and who’s not good enough.

What the club don’t wan’t and what football should never be about, but what football fans have indulged over the last 10 years is the ridiculous yellow tie, yellow dress wearing Sky Sports News Deadline Day brigade, where fans are just hoping that the club gets anybody through the door.

Especially now with FFP, clubs need to be more creative.

What do Liverpool fans really want? Their club blowing £50m/£60m on a player that will end up being surplus to requirements, or blowing £5m a year on a recruitment guy that keeps them with a pipeline of the world’s best talent over the next five or six years.

For me, it’s a no brainer. The latter scenario means the football club is sustainable, works better and their recruitment looks much more solid.

Arsenal board won’t be concerned if it takes 10 years for Arteta to win the title

Mikel Arteta could stay at Arsenal for 10 years and still not win the Premier League, and it’s unlikely to make a huge difference to the board.

I think that he’s almost hanging on by his fingernails at the moment waiting for Pep to go, and I know that a lot of Arsenal fans reading that would go ‘well, we’ve run them (Man City) very close in the last couple of seasons.’

Once Pep Guardiola goes, then yes, there’ll be a few teams below them that are going to be in better shape to be able to take advantage, but let’s not forget the fact that Arsenal have only run them very close in seasons where Manchester United seem continually in flux, where Liverpool could have and should have done better, and where Tottenham were in transition with the new manager, Ange Postecoglou.

So from that perspective, Arsenal have had very fertile ground to try and be successful, and they still haven’t done it when it comes to Premier League.

The Arsenal board like Arteta’s work, his style of play and the players that have been brought in, and the first-team have been relatively successful.

I almost see it as a sort of Gareth Southgate scenario but in club football.

It sounds odd, but I genuinely believe that from where they were when Arteta came in – wasting money on players like Nicolas Pepe, other players not really wanting to go there, falling away in the title race and not challenging for a number of years – to where they are now, that should be considered a success in itself.

At least now Arsenal can offer regular Champions League football again and  it’s a place whereby on and off the pitch, there seems to be some sort of unity and enjoyment of the work process.

Kylian Mbappe has to be humble at Real Madrid or face the sort of jealousy I did at Liverpool

Kylian Mbappe, particularly because of the of the clout and the unrivalled power he had at PSG, will automatically go in at Real Madrid as a senior player, but he’ll definitely have to be humble because there are enough senior players in that dressing room and a stadium full of people that are used to seeing Galacticos arrive.

They won’t really care that he was a Real Madrid fan as a kid or that he had Cristiano Ronaldo posters on his wall.

Players like Dani Carvajal have been there, seen it, got the t shirt and so there’ll be two or three that will be looking at him and seeing how he is in the dressing room.

As I was told when I joined Liverpool, ‘play the political game,’ because obviously, if he doesn’t, he’ll find things very different to Paris Saint-Germain on and off the pitch.

When I went to Liverpool, there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind whatsoever that within two or three weeks of signing and after all the happy, clapping, ‘hey, how you doing, do you want to come out with us for a beer and be our friend?’ kind of thing, that my team-mates thought I was some big time Charlie.

I did an article for FourFourTwo in which I basically made a criticism of an industry that buys a player from a club (me), already knows what he does over a number of times that they watch him and then completely tries to change his natural game.

It wasn’t meant to be ‘here I am, a British record signing, the best thing since sliced bread,’ it was that Liverpool’s way of working just made no sense to me.

Liverpool knew how I played; get the ball into feet early, I could turn people. I could run at people, and if there’s space in behind, I could run behind.

The late, great, Ronnie Moran said ‘look, Steven McManaman is the one that runs with the ball, Robbie Fowler is the man and Ian Rush is the fox in the box,’ so I had to completely reinvent my own game.

I made a point in the article of saying ‘what other industry buys an asset only to completely change it?,’ and after that, there was kind of like a genuine, I wouldn’t say hostility, but a snideness from some players that wasn’t there before.

So, Kylian Mbappe, who has been top dog and massively over indulged for so long, will have to fall in line fairly quickly, be humble and say the right things.

If he doesn’t, there’ll only be problems down the road.

Aston Villa have been the most impressive club in the transfer window so far

I’m going to go with my club Aston Villa for being the most impressive so far in this current transfer window.

Firstly, they’ve had the stumbling block of wanting to spend lots of money but can’t because of FFP, so they’ve had to get creative.

Morgan Rogers was originally at West Brom, who have arguably the best academy in the country, but Villa had him watched and brought him in prior to this summer – a deal which indicated that the club were getting it exactly right in terms of recruitment.

Jaden Philogene coming back again is a really good bit of business for £12m too. They sent him out and he was battle tested in the Championship, and he’s done the business. We all know what he was like at Hull, and now he’s got an opportunity to shine.

I remember writing about Amadou Onana several years ago and thinking this guy could be a real tour de force as a midfielder. Some Villa fans have said, ‘well, it’s not exactly an upgrade on on Douglas Luiz,’ but he’s a very different player, who is physically stronger.

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When John McGinn was having quiet games last season, they didn’t have that physicality between Luiz and Kamara.

So, Onana’s ability to drive forward and to be a physically big presence as well as being able to pass the ball will be manna from heaven for Unai Emery.

There might still be some more deals to be done as there’s talk of Joao Felix heading to Villa Park, and that would really would set the cat amongst the pigeons.

Yes, they’ve spent the most money this summer, but they’ll recoup a lot too, don’t forget. They’ve got Moussa Diaby off the wage bill, Douglas Luiz is gone and Jhon Duran is likely to move to West Ham…

They’ve added where they’ve needed to and sold well so, for me, the club that has done the best business in the Premier League so far just happens to be the club that I support.

The post Collymore’s column: Liverpool supporters should be careful what they wish for, De Bruyne news a real fillip for Man City and more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

This article was originally published on the Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Charles Watts’ exclusive articles via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service at thedailybriefing.io

Patient approach pays off with Riccardo Calafiori transfer

Arsenal have had to stay patient when it comes to their move for Riccardo Calafiori. But that is something they have shown they are willing to be when it comes to landing players they really want.

You just have to look at when they signed Martin Odegaard on a permanent basis from Real Madrid in 2021 as a prime example of that.

They were made to wait all summer by Madrid and could easily have grown frustrated and moved on to other targets. But they were happy to play the waiting game because Mikel Arteta and Edu were convinced Odegaard was a player who could take the team to the next level and they have been rewarded for that patience.

They have not had to wait as long for Calafiori as they did for Odegaard and I don’t think they were ever worried that the deal would not get done. It feels like talks with Bologna have gone relatively well. It’s the massive sell-on fee that Basel will be due for the deal that has made things a bit tricky.

Ideally, Arteta would have wanted to have this one done in time for Calafiori to travel out with the squad for the start of the USA tour. That hasn’t proved to be possible, but the signs are that the deal could be finalised by the end of the week and should that happen, then Arsenal will certainly fly the Italian out to the States to link up with his new team-mates.

Even if he is deemed not ready to play, Arteta will want him out there. He is very big on having new arrivals included for a pre-season tour as he believes that is the perfect environment for them to get to know their new team-mates ahead of the new Premier League campaign.

I think it’s a really exciting signing for Arsenal. Left-back was one of two positions in the team last season where there was no real consistency. Arteta was having to mix and match throughout the season, with the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jakob Kiwior all filling in there.

All of them have their qualities, but when you look at Calafiori and where his strengths are, he looks like a really smart signing. He has the qualities to invert into midfield from left-back thanks to how comfortable he is with the ball when he drives forward. But if Arteta wants to use Ben White as his inverted full-back on the right, then Calafiori can just move more centrally and make up a three with Gabriel and William Saliba.

Arsenal were so strong defensively last season and you have to think the addition of the 22-year-old is only going to make them even better at the back. That’s a pretty scary scenario for the rest of the Premier League.

Arsenal have big belief in Tommy Setford

The addition of Tommy Setford is an interesting one. I have to admit, it’s one that came a bit out of the blue for me, I hadn’t heard anything about their interest until this summer.

But this was always going to be the summer which was going to feature a big shake-up in the goalkeeper department at Arsenal, both at first-team level and in the academy.

In the academy there has been a host of departures when it comes to goalkeepers, with Arsenal allowing several to leave. So they needed to replace them with quality and they identified Setford as an exciting talent they believe they can develop into a top young goalkeeper.

He has been brought in to be first choice for the U21s this season, but he will also work with David Raya and the senior keepers on a regular basis at London Colney during the week as the club looks to fast track his development.

Update on Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe transfers

It’s a bit of a waiting game when it comes to Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe at the moment. You can add Reiss Nelson on to that list as well.

They are all players who could leave Arsenal this summer. There has been a bid from Fulham for Smith Rowe, but that has been rejected. A second bid is expected, but Crystal Palace are also expected to make an offer soon having made their interest in the playmaker known.

In an ideal world, Mikel Arteta would keep Smith Rowe. This time last year he made it clear that he would not be sold and I think his stance would be the same this time around if it was just down to a footballing decision. But Smith Rowe now has just two years left on his contract and has a strong desire to be playing regular football having sat on the bench for much of the last two seasons.

So Arsenal would reluctantly let him leave should a good offer arrive from Fulham, Palace or anyone else. But at the moment that offer has not arrived and that is why Smith Rowe has flown with the squad to the United States. It’s certainly not a case that Arsenal will be forcing him out of the door.

It’s a similar situation for Nketiah. Marseille’s interest is interesting. It would be a bold and exciting move for Nketiah to make. But for Arsenal to let him go, then Marseille would have to commit to stumping up some serious cash. Whether they can hit the type of number that Arsenal are holding out for is up for debate.

I don’t believe a bid has arrived yet from the French club. The interest is there, but as far as I’ve been told it hasn’t materialised into anything concrete yet.

Nicolas Pepe criticism was over the top – Arsenal fans should be wishing him the best for the rest of his career

Nicolas Pepe’s comments were pretty eye opening. They certainly shone a light on the type of pressure and scrutiny that top players have to deal with.

It was hard not to feel sorry for him when you heard what he had to say. I do think some of the criticism he got was harsh. I said it at the time, he may not have been able to live up to his lofty price tag, but It was laughable for some to describe him as the biggest flop in Premier League history, because there is no way that was true.

Was he a £72m player? No, and it didn’t take long to work that out after he arrived. But he was still a good player and he showed that during his first two seasons at the club.

Pepe did some decent things at Arsenal and was very influential in them winning the FA Cup in 2020. It wasn’t his fault that he cost £72m.

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I can’t say that I know what or who he was talking about when he said that certain people in the club didn’t help him amid all the criticism. In terms of what went wrong for him at Arsenal, the team just very quickly outgrew him as Mikel Arteta’s overhaul took shape.

Pepe just didn’t have the attributes needed to be a success under Arteta. For all his talents going forward, he was pretty one dimensional and his defensive side of the game just wasn’t good enough to live up to Arteta’s demands.

It’s a real shame to see him without a club now. He’s only 29 and should still be playing. Hopefully he can find somewhere soon and can enjoy a decent end to his career.

The post Arsenal transfer news: Patient approach for Calafiori, update on Gunners duo futures & more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Arsenal expert Charles Watts has provided some insight and his opinion on Nicolas Pepe and where it all went wrong for him at the Emirates Stadium following his public criticism of his former club last week.

Pepe looked an exciting signing when he first joined the Gunners back in 2019, but it quickly became apparent that he was struggling to settle and show his best form in the Premier League.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest column for the Daily Briefing, Watts expressed his view that Pepe’s struggles really began once Mikel Arteta took over as manager and started to reshape the side, with the team quite quickly outgrowing the Ivory Coast international.

Pepe is now without a club and Watts admits it’s sad to see him struggling like he has in recent times, with the player clearly lacking confidence after speaking publicly about his difficult time at Arsenal.

Pepe’s Arsenal struggles were overblown, says Watts

Watts is not entirely clear who Pepe was referring to in his interview, but he also suggested that a lot of the criticism that came his way was over the top anyway.

“Nicolas Pepe’s comments were pretty eye opening. They certainly shone a light on the type of pressure and scrutiny that top players have to deal with,” Watts said.

“It was hard not to feel sorry for him when you heard what he had to say. I do think some of the criticism he got was harsh. I said it at the time, he may not have been able to live up to his lofty price tag, but It was laughable for some to describe him as the biggest flop in Premier League history, because there is no way that was true.

“Was he a £72m player? No, and it didn’t take long to work that out after he arrived. But he was still a good player and he showed that during his first two seasons at the club.

“Pepe did some decent things at Arsenal and was very influential in them winning the FA Cup in 2020. It wasn’t his fault that he cost £72m.

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“I can’t say that I know what or who he was talking about when he said that certain people in the club didn’t help him amid all the criticism. In terms of what went wrong for him at Arsenal, the team just very quickly outgrew him as Mikel Arteta’s overhaul took shape.

“Pepe just didn’t have the attributes needed to be a success under Arteta. For all his talents going forward, he was pretty one dimensional and his defensive side of the game just wasn’t good enough to live up to Arteta’s demands.

“It’s a real shame to see him without a club now. He’s only 29 and should still be playing. Hopefully he can find somewhere soon and can enjoy a decent end to his career.”

The post “It’s a real shame” – Arsenal expert responds to Gunners flop’s criticism of the club appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Nicolas Pepe has opened up on the ‘trauma’ he suffered during his spell as an Arsenal player.

The Ivory Coast winger became Arsenal’s record signing when he arrived from Lille for a £72m fee (per Sky Sports) in the summer of 2019.

However, Pepe never found his feet at the Emirates, notching just 27 goals and 21 assists in 112 appearances across all competitions for the Gunners, though he did register a goal and two assists in the club’s run to the FA Cup title in 2020.

Nevertheless, Pepe was loaned out to Nice for the 2022/23 campaign before joining Turkish side Trabzonspor on a free transfer last summer despite having one year remaining on his Arsenal contract.

Pepe reveals ‘trauma’ of Arsenal spell

Now a free agent after being released by Trabzonspor, Pepe has opened up about his harrowing experience at Arsenal, where he was often lambasted for his performances — to the point where he fell out of love with football altogether.

“At Arsenal, I suffered a kind of trauma, as if my passion had been ripped away from me,” Pepe told French news outlet L’Equipe.

“I felt disgust for the game. I was no longer playing, and I asked myself why I was doing this job.

“I doubted myself to the point that I thought about giving it all up. I wondered how people could be so harsh on me. They even called me the biggest flop in the history of the Premier League.”

Pepe admitted that his £72m fee contributed heavily to his struggles at the Emirates, raising expectations around his performances to unreasonable levels for a player requiring an adjustment period to English football.

“I hadn’t asked Arsenal to pay £72m for me,” Pepe added.

“With a fee that high people don’t care what level you come from – they just want you to perform straight away.

“Sadly the reality is that it’s statistics above all. Some players score 25 goals a season, but there aren’t many of them and I’m not even a number nine.

“I wasn’t going to roll over the Premier League like that. But that’s what brought me this wave of criticism.”

Pepe revealed that even members of Arsenal’s staff contributed to his struggles in England, although the 29-year-old winger did credit the club’s supporters, who he says ‘always supported him’.

“It was almost harassment,” he said. “I don’t look at social media much, but if my brother told me, ‘This is what they said about you,’ it would affect me unconsciously.

“It also came from the media or from certain members of the club. They don’t realise that it can affect the mental state, the family and it affects performance.

“The only people who always supported me were the Arsenal fans.”

The post Former Arsenal star opens up on ‘trauma’ of Gunners spell appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Former Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe has explained why he was so attracted to the transfer to Turkish giants Trabzonspor this summer.

The Ivory Coast international endured a difficult few years at the Emirates Stadium, not living up to the expectations that came with his arrival from Lille in the summer of 2019.

After an underwhelming loan spell at Nice last season, Pepe finally left Arsenal permanently this summer and it seems he’s very happy with his choice and excited by life at Trabzonspor.

Speaking to NTV Spor, Pepe discussed how the transfer came about and what Trabzonspor did to persuade him about their project.

He said: “There were other Turkish clubs interested in me, but what makes the difference is about the president, vice president and coach of Trabzon.

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“Especially our vice president, who travelled regarding this issue. To see me, to have a conversation. He came to explain the club’s project. After he explained to me the club and the project, this was something that appealed directly to me and I could not refuse it.”

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Some Arsenal fans will surely keep an eye on how Pepe gets on in Turkey, with the 28-year-old surely still having it in him to perform to a decent standard, albeit in a less competitive league.

On his day, Pepe looks capable of some terrific moments with that left foot of his, so let’s hope this can be the start of a revival for him.

The post “I could not refuse” – Player explains decision to complete transfer away from Arsenal this summer appeared first on CaughtOffside.

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Tottenham to complete centre-back signing this week

Fantastic news for Tottenham fans as the club is closing in on the signing of Croatian wonderkid defender Luka Vuskovic. Born in 2007, this centre-back looks an exciting signing for the future for Spurs.

FULL STORY HERE

Arsenal terminate another big-name player’s contract

Nicolas Pepe’s contract ended up being terminated by Arsenal this summer, allowing him to complete his move to Trabzonspor on a free transfer.

Ideally, I’m sure Arsenal would have liked to bring in a fee for Pepe, who was their record signing back in 2019, but in the end his contract was terminated by the club, and it’s not the first time we’ve seen them take this decision since Mikel Arteta became manager, with other big names like Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also leaving in the same way.

FULL STORY HERE

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Also in today’s column…

Latest news on Frenkie de Jong’s new contract, Romelu Lukaku’s Premier League option, latest Saudi targets ahead of January, and more!

The post Exclusive transfer news: Pepe Arsenal exit, Tottenham days away from new signing & more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has commented on Arsenal’s slightly risky policy of terminating the contracts of several big-name players during Mikel Arteta’s time as manager.

Writing in the latest edition of his exclusive CaughtOffside column, Romano discussed the latest of those contract terminations, with Nicolas Pepe having his deal cancelled, allowing him to move from Arsenal to Trabzonspor on a free transfer.

The Ivory Coast international was Arsenal’s record signing when he joined from Lille back in 2019, but he never lived up to expectations at the Emirates Stadium, and it’s hardly surprising that he’s now been allowed to leave, even if it’s a bit of a big statement to green light the move without even receiving a fee for the player.

This has happened before with Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Arsenal, but Romano feels the club didn’t really have much of a choice with Pepe, even if he concedes it’s not an ideal policy from a financial point of view.

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“Ideally, I’m sure Arsenal would have liked to bring in a fee for Pepe, who was their record signing back in 2019, but in the end his contract was terminated by the club, and it’s not the first time we’ve seen them take this decision since Mikel Arteta became manager, with other big names like Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also leaving in the same way,” Romano wrote.

He added: “I think in some cases it’s the only way to move on and let the player try different experience, while the club can also save money by removing these players’ big wages… of course it’s not an ideal solution from a financial point of view, but in some cases, like this one, there was no other way for Arsenal.”

The post Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano comments on risky Arsenal transfer strategy under Mikel Arteta appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe is not convinced by a move to Saudi Arabia after they made approaches to sign him as the player wants to stay in Europe.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the deal is not happening this summer and Pepe’s priority is now to join Turkish side Trabzonspor. Negotiations will commence in order to reach an agreement with Arsenal for the 28-year-old, as both sides would be content with parting ways.

The winger has no future at the Gunners and is not part of Mikel Arteta’s plans going forward as the Spaniard continues to push the North London outfit to new heights.

Nicolas Pépé, not convinced by Saudi approaches — deal not happening, his priority is now to join Trabzonspor ??

Negotiations to follow in order to reach an agreement, as @footmercato called; he’s completely out of Arsenal project.#AFC prepared to give the green light. pic.twitter.com/4OncRa8jve

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 7, 2023

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Pepe has been a failure at Arenal since his big-money move back in 2019 and spent the previous campaign on loan with Nice. The 28-year-old has played a total of 112 times for the Gunners, scoring 27 goals and assisting a further 21.

The Arsenal star is in need of a fresh start at a permanent home and Trabzonspor would provide him with that.

The post Arsenal star not convinced by Saudi move as player seeks European transfer appeared first on CaughtOffside.