OGC Nice interested in Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe

OGC Nice are interested in bringing Nicolas Pepe to the club on loan, report FootMercato.

The Arsenal club record signing has failed to live up to his price tag since joining in 2019, and has fallen out of favour with Mikel Arteta.

Hale End graduate Bukayo Saka quickly displaced the Ivorian once he became comfortable with the right-wing position, with Pepe struggling to fight back. 

It’s a damning indictment of the battle for the right wing spot that Saka was the only Gunners player to feature in all 38 league games last season.

Despite being just 20 years old, Saka is indispensable, leaving the club record signing on the periphery.

OGC Nice are interested in offering the Ivorian an escape, wanting to bring the player in on loan.

From Pepe’s perspective, the 27-year-old is said to be interested in a move back to France, the country that saw him put up immense numbers in his pre-Arsenal years.

Adding fuel to the fire, Pepe’s agent Louis Ferrer was spotted at Nice’s stadium last weekend, leading some to speculate the reason for his presence being the transfer of his client.

There is evidently a player in Pepe, however, one suited to a transition based team, one built around the Ivorian to maximise his strengths and minimise his weaknesses. 

Unfortunately for the Arsenal no.19, the Arteta project has moved beyond him, with the wingers required to have high levels of technical security.

Nonetheless, whilst his transfer failed to achieve value for money, he was crucial in the FA Cup win of 2020, assisting in both the semi-final and final, bringing Arteta his first trophy of his managerial career.

A departure for Pepe would add to a number of players who have left the Gunners this summer.

Lucas Torreira, Bernd Leno, Alex Runarsson and Pablo Mari have all left the club in the past weeks.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Hector Bellerin are also expected to leave the club.