Arsenal willing to take £70m loss on Arteta outcast who has been warned he will ‘never’ play for Gunners again
Nicolas Pepe has been told he will never play for Arsenal again and the Gunners are willing to take a significant loss to get him off their wage bill.
It’s been clear for quite some time that Pepe is no longer in Mikel Arteta’s plans. The winger spent last season on loan with Nice and he hasn’t been given a squad number upon his return to North London.
Turkish giants Besiktas have been heavily linked with the Arsenal outcast, but they are yet to strike a deal. Turkish clubs do have until September 15 to sign players so they still have time to finalise a move.
According to The Sun, Pepe has been warned that he will ‘never’ play for Arsenal again as they desperately try to offload the 28-year-old.
Pepe is now in the final year of his contract with Arsenal and is said to be earning £150,000 a week. The problem facing Arsenal is that Besiktas want to sign the player on a free transfer while they are looking for a fee of around £4m.
With his move to Turkey now at risk of collapse, the Gunners have been boosted by some interest from the Saudi Pro League.
According to the Secret Scout, Arsenal have received a proposal from Saudi Arabian side Al Shabab. “Understand Pepe have received a proposal from Saudi club Al Shabab,” he revealed on Twitter.
“Arsenal looking for a fee of around £2m. Representatives are out in Saudi to work on and complete deal.”
Arteta gave a brief update on the player on transfer deadline day and admitted that the club were still looking for solutions.
“We are still looking for solutions and there is a lot of communication between his agent and the player and the club at the moment.,” he said. “There is nothing to announce at the moment.”
A move away from Arsenal seems the most logical step for Pepe. While he will earn a handsome wage by sticking around, it won’t do his career any good by wasting away in the reserves.
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