"Will go this summer" - Journalist now drops major exit claim on £140k-p/w Arsenal ace

Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe will depart the club this summer after falling down Mikel Arteta’s pecking order, according to Daily Express journalist Ryan Taylor.

The 27-year-old became the capital club’s record signing when he arrived from LOSC Lille back in August 2019 after completing a £72 million move.

According to Football.London, Pepe wants to leave Arsenal when the market reopens for business and has hired a new agent in an attempt to find pastures new.

The report states that the Ivory Coast international is one of several senior first-team players who will be allowed to depart the Emirates Stadium ahead of next season.

And a recent report in The Mirror claims that Arsenal would be willing to accept an offer in the region of £25m for Pepe, almost a third of what they paid for him nearly three years ago.

It’s so far unclear where the skilful forward could be plying his trade in 2022/23 as no teams have been credited with an interest, but it seems unlikely that it will be in north London.

Arsenal made tangible progress under Arteta last term, finishing just two points outside of the top four despite having the youngest squad in the Premier League.

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But Pepe was forced to watch from the sidelines for the majority of the campaign, and Taylor believes his time at the Emirates Stadium is drawing to a conclusion.

He told GiveMeSport: “I think Pepe will go this summer. He’s recently changed agencies, and that’s with the view of getting a move. I think Arsenal are more than aware that they’re going to have to take a considerable hit on him now.”

Pepe, who signed a five-year deal worth £140,000-per-week when he