
<p>Arsenal announced on Saturday that they have released striker Nicolas Pepe of Ivory Coast to sign with Trabzonspor of Turkey’s Super Lig.</p>



<p>With a then-record transfer price of about $90 million, the Gunners acquired the 28-year-old in 2019 from Ligue 1 club Lille. With this summer’s $130 million pound transfer of England midfielder <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/lampard-confesses-chelseas-prime-target-set-to-join-arsenal-20230713-WST-442925.html">Declan Rice</a> from West Ham, they set a new record transfer fee.</p>



<p><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/arsenals-pepe-linked-with-transfer-away-from-emirates-20230907-WST-454590.html">Pepe</a> was never able to establish himself with the Gunners, moving to a supporting role until he finally started his last <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/">Premier League</a> game for the club in October 2021. He was on loan at French club Nice last year and scored eight goals in 28 games.</p>



<h5>Pepe latest player to see contract torn up under Arteta</h5>



<p>Although Pepe rejoined <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/arsenal-tv-schedule/">Arsenal</a> this summer, he did not take part in the team’s preseason. The team has given him permission to seek a new team for quite some time.</p>



<p>Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Shkodran Mustafi, Sead Kolasinac, Willian, and Hector Bellerin all left the club during Mikel Arteta’s tenure as manager. </p>



<p>Now, the Ivorian winger is the latest player to have his contract canceled.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr">"Buraya; şampiyon olmak ve başarılar kazanmak için geldim"<br><br>Nicolas&nbsp;Pepe <a href="https://t.co/sh4qNudmtV">pic.twitter.com/sh4qNudmtV</a></p>— Trabzonspor (@Trabzonspor) <a href="https://twitter.com/Trabzonspor/status/1699919072027087035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 7, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<p>In a <a href="https://www.arsenal.com/news/nicolas-pepe-leaves-club" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">press release</a>, the English side said: “We can confirm that Nicolas Pepe is leaving the club. We have agreed with Nicolas to terminate his contract with immediate effect. Everyone at Arsenal thanks Nicolas for his contribution during his time with us and wish him well for the future.”</p>



<h5>Arsenal still owe $12m to Lille</h5>



<p>Pepe was one of the highest-paid players for Arsenal, but he was already prepared to accept a wage reduction in order to finally escape north London.</p>



<p>By getting rid of the winger, the Gunners will save between $8.7 million and $11.2 million every year.</p>



<p>The only problem is that the Gunners made a big deal about signing the player from Lille in 2019, promising to pay the total sum in installments. The <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/nicolas-pepe-arsenal-fc-contract-termination-b1105993.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Evening Standard</a> reports that they have yet to pay another installment worth almost $12.4 million.</p>



<p>Photo credit: IMAGO / Icon Sportswire</p>


Arsenal to continue paying Lille for Pepe despite deal termination

Even though Pepe has since left Arsenal, the club is still obligated to pay the huge transfer cost that was incurred when they acquired him.

Arsenal to continue paying Lille for Pepe despite deal termination - World Soccer Talk


<p>Arsenal remains hopeful that Nicolas Pepe will soon depart the club. The Ivory Coast international is still technically with the team despite not featuring at all so far this season under Mikel Arteta. Although the Premier League’s summer transfer window closed last week, there are still options for Pepe.</p>



<p>The <em><a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/nicolas-pepe-besiktas-transfer-arsenal-fc-b1105539.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Evening Standard</a></em> is reporting that the 28-year-old winger is being linked with Turkish duo Besiktas and Trabzonspor. Pepe previously blocked a potential move to Besiktas in August. However, he may have to reconsider his decision to play once again. The transfer window in Turkey does not close until September 15th.</p>



<h5>Previous record transfer has not started a game for Arsenal since 2021</h5>



<p>Pepe is currently in his final year under contract at <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/arsenal-tv-schedule/">Arsenal</a>. He previously signed a five-year deal with the Gunners when he joined from Lille in 2019. Although he was the club’s most expensive signing at the time, the winger did not exactly deliver on the pitch. He has managed to score 16 goals and add nine assists in 80 total <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/">Premier League</a> matches. Nevertheless, Pepe did provide key assists during Arsenal’s triumphant run to the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/fa-cup-tv-schedule/">FA Cup</a> title in 2020.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nicolas Pépé, not convinced by Saudi approaches — deal not happening, his priority is now to join Trabzonspor 🇹🇷<br><br>Negotiations to follow in order to reach an agreement, as <a href="https://twitter.com/footmercato?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@footmercato</a> called; he’s completely out of Arsenal project.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AFC</a> prepared to give the green light. <a href="https://t.co/4OncRa8jve">pic.twitter.com/4OncRa8jve</a></p>— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) <a href="https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1699762905175015430?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 7, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>After three campaigns with the Gunners, Pepe was sent out on loan at <a href="https://www.worldsoccertalk.com/ligue-un-tv-schedule">Ligue 1</a> side Nice last season. The forward netted eight goals in 28 total matches with the French club. Nice did have an option to make Pepe’s transfer permanent but eventually decided against the move.</p>



<h2>Arsenal looking to clear Nicolas Pepe weekly wages</h2>



<p>Arsenal is not going to pick up a significant transfer fee if it offloads Pepe. The Gunners previously shelled out a fee of about $87 million for the winger in 2019. While the Premier League club won’t recoup much of this massive fee, they will be looking to clear the player’s wages. Pepe earns around $174,000 each week. This is the eighth-highest salary in the squad. Pepe earns more than Martin Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale and Gabriel Martinelli.</p>



<p>Assuming a deal cannot be brokered with a Turkish team, a mutual agreement to tear up Pepe’s contract could also happen. The winger does not currently even have a jersey number. Club brass previously gave his No. 19 shirt to Leandro Trossard in January. </p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Icon Sportswire</em></p>


Arsenal's Pepe linked with transfer away from Emirates

Arsenal is looking to sell outcast Nicolas Pepe to a Turkish club within the next week. The winger has not started a match since 2021.

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Arsenal to continue paying Lille for Pepe despite deal termination

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Arsenal's Pepe linked with transfer away from Emirates