Arsenal still owe huge payments on Nicolas Pepe transfer despite axing £72m flop

10 September 2023 , 09:55

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Arsenal still owe huge payments on Nicolas Pepe transfer despite axing £72m flop

Arsenal still owe a reported £10m of the £72m they spent to land Nicolas Pepe - despite axing the Ivorian.

The Gunners spent big to land the winger back in 2019 after his stellar efforts in Ligue 1 with Lille, but Pepe only produced his best moments on occasion with his time in north London largely underwhelming prior to his exit this week.

A loan spell at Nice last term failed to get Pepe back to his former levels and his contract has now been terminated, allowing him to move elsewhere. Transfers nowadays though often include structured payments and, according to the Evening Standard, the Gunners were still due to pay around £10m before the entire fee had been paid.

Turkish club Trabzonspor have landed the player's signature, bringing to an end his spell with the Premier League outfit, where he scored 27 goals in 112 appearances.

Arsenal said in a statement: “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.”

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Mikel Arteta has ruthlessly culled his squad since taking charge and has been more than willing to terminate players' deals with Pepe joining the likes of Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Shkodran Mustafi, Sead Kolasinac, Willian and Hector Bellerin - who all had their deals torn up.

Arsenal have allowed Nicolas Pepe to leave for nothing (Getty Images)

The Gunners boss has finally got the personnel he wants after several years in the role and has continued to offload those who are no longer part of his plans, Pepe among them. He commented earlier this summer that his squad size was "unsustainable".

"We have 30 players here which is unsustainable, and obviously the market is still open," Arteta said. "Things can happen - but we are prepared. We are really happy with the squad we have at the moment; we obviously have improvements to make in terms of what we want to do in games, and we have to do that. Overall, I'm really pleased with the team."

Samuel Meade