Mikel Arteta believes Nicolas Pepe could leave this summer

Nicolas Pepe is expected to return to Ligue 1 on loan.

The 27-year-old winger has two years left on his Arsenal contract and is currently not part of Mikel Arteta’s plans for the new season.

A number of fringe players have already departed on loan or on permanent transfers to free up some money on the wage bill.

The Gunners signed Pepe for £72million from Lille back in 2019 and now he is expected to join Nice on a season-long loan.

Arsenal would definitely find it difficult to recoup the £72million they paid three summers ago for the Ivory Coast international.

He started only five games for Arsenal last season and has overall played 112 times and scored 27 goals for Arsenal.

Back in July, the winger seemed determined to turn his fortunes around at Arsenal.

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 anything is possible with any player.”

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