Nicolas Pepe has been left out of ’s squad to face Bournemouth on Saturday as the club’s record signing closes in a loan move to Nice.
The Ivory Coast international joined the Gunners in the summer of 2019 from Lille in an eye-watering £72million deal.
Pepe has shown only flashes of the ability that persuaded Arsenal’s director of football at the time, Raul Sanllehi, to overrule Unai Emery who had wanted to sign Wilfried Zaha from Crystal Palace instead.
With the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli firmly established in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI, Pepe’s chances of regular first team football appear limited and the 27-year-old is unwilling to settle for a bit-part role this season.
Arsenal are currently in discussions with Nice over a season-long deal but any agreement is unlikely to contain an obligation to buy clause.
Addressing the speculation surrounding Pepe’s future on Friday, Arteta said: ‘What we can communicate we always do when it’s the right moment.
‘We discussed that we have a big squad and we’ve made some decisions and allowed some players to leave. Until the end of the window it’s possible that anything can happen with any player.’
Arsenal will now, according to the Athletic, focus on bringing in a wide player in what remains of the transfer window.
The Gunners held interest in Brazil international Raphinha earlier this summer but backed out of a potential deal when it became clear he has eyes only for Barcelona.
Villarreal youngster Yeremy Pino is also said to be on Arteta’s radar as well as PSV Eindhoven’s Cody Gakpo who has also been linked with Manchester United.
Asked about Arsenal’s transfer plans in his pre-match press conference, Arteta said: ‘Obviously, the market gives you a lot of information and something that maybe you expect that you could get, you are not getting and the same when it’s ins and outs.
‘But we are focused on the players that we have right now and getting the best out of them.
‘It has to be the right person, and it has to be the right player. We want to only bring top quality through that door, otherwise it’s not worth it.’
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