Premier League title chasers Arsenal have finally cut ties with Ivorian international winger Nicolas Pépé as the former club record signing looks set to join Turkish outfit Trabzonsor after both camps agreed to terminate his contract at the Emirates by mutual consent.
Arsenal confirm they have reached an agreement to terminate Nicolas Pepe’s contract a year early.
That paves the way for the winger to join Trabzonspor. https://t.co/TzLhZPM4JJ
— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) September 9, 2023
Pépé, who arrived in the summer of 2019 during the Unai Emery regime for a then-record £72m, was a contentious signing from the off after Emery had pushed to bring Wilfried Zaha to north London but was ultimately supplied with a player that former Arsenal director Raul Sanllehi was keen on.
Now 28, Pépé spent the 2022-23 season on loan with Ligue 1 side OGC Nice after it was made clear that he was not in Mikel Arteta’s plans at the club, despite hitting 16 goals in 47 appearances across all competitions in 2020-21, but could only follow up with 3 in 23 in 2021-22 as Arteta’s vision had begun to truly take shape.
Arsenal issued a statement on their official website to bid the player farewell while thanking him for his contributions during his spell in England, which included a 2019-20 FA Cup win.
“We have agreed with Nicolas to terminate his contract with immediate effect.”
“Ivory Coast international Nicolas, who joined us from French side Lille in the summer of 2019, won the FA Cup with us in 2020, assisting our winning goal in the 2-1 victory over Chelsea. During his time at the club, the forward has made 111 appearances for us in all competitions.”
“Everyone at Arsenal thanks Nicolas for his contribution during his time with us and wish him well for the future.”
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