Arsenal did not complete all their desired outgoings by the end of the English transfer window. Thankfully for them, they have been able to use the later closing date of the Turkish window to offload one more unwanted player.
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Nicolas Pepe Leaves Arsenal
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
Nicolas Pepe Seals Trabzonspor Move
Turkish club Trabzonspor have confirmed the signing of Nicolas Pepe from Arsenal and even posted a picture of him wearing their jersey on a flight as he gets ready to complete his move. In a message to the fans, he said: “I came here to become a champion and achieve success.” The BBC claims that this will be a free transfer and that the Gunners will not be able to recuperate anything of the £72 million they spent to sign him in 2019.
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Fabrizio Romano revealed that Nicolas Pepe rejected a move to any Saudi Arabia club as he was not convinced by the approach from the clubs in that country. Romano also claimed that the Ivory Coast winger was “totally out” of Mikel Arteta’s project at Arsenal and was not being counted to contribute to their squad at all.
Why Did Things Go Wrong for Pepe at Arsenal?
The 28-year-old winger arrived at Arsenal back in 2019 with a lot of hype, with the Gunners breaking their all-time transfer record to sign him for a whopping £72 million. However, the winger just couldn’t settle in under Mikel Arteta nor was he able to impress under the Spaniard either.
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He made 117 appearances for the North London side, scoring 27 goals and providing 21 assists across all competitions, with his numbers not being enough for the club. Last season, he was sent on loan at Ligue 1 club Lille, before which Arteta praised his “phenomenal attitude” in training.
He was not even made part of any matchday squads for the four Premier League games this season and was isolated until bring able to seal this transfer, as the winger now embarks on a new journey and aims to get his career back on track in Turkey.
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