Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Arsenal want to sell record signing Nicolas Pepe this summer, but ‘don’t want to create problems’.
It’d hard to see Pepe finding a consistent place in Mikel Arteta’s current plans, in truth. Arsenal have once again strengthened this summer, and with such a depth of attacking talent in the form of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Jesus, Pepe’s minutes are likely to be extremely limited next season.
Speaking on the situation, Romano said when speaking on Que Golazo: “They are open to selling him. Of course, they don’t want to create problems around the player and this is why they’re still protecting him, playing him, because they know there are chances for him to stay in case they want to receive the right proposal. But Arsenal are open to letting him go, in case they will receive a good bid.
“So I would keep the situation open for Pepe. At the moment, there is still not something close or advanced with any club, but I think it’s a situation that could be interesting to follow in the coming weeks.”
TIF Thoughts on Nicolas Pepe…
Signed for £72m in 2019, the fact that Pepe has only scored 27 goals in 112 appearances means that for us, he comfortably falls into the flop category when it comes to transfers. And having stagnated at Arsenal, it’s fair to say that he desperately needs a move.
As per Romano, however, it doesn’t seem as though Arsenal will force the winger out of the door this summer if the right offer doesn’t come in. From Arteta’s perspective, with five substitutions allowed next season, he may be thinking that the more depth he has at his disposal, the better chance his side stand as they seek to compete on all fronts from August.
We’ve still got just over a month left until the summer transfer window slams shut, and in that timeframe, a lot can happen in the Premier League as far as incomings and outgoings are concerned. If the Gunners do receive a tempting offer for Pepe, whether they would consider it or not remains to be seen.