Arsenal willing to listen to £25m offers for winger

The S*n claim Arsenal are ready to hear offers for Nicolas Pepe this summer, and they’re resigned to taking a significant financial hit on what they paid for him.

The Gunners brought Pepe in for a £72m fee, but they’d be prepared to let him leave for £25m in the upcoming window. The player himself would reportedly welcome a move to one of the other major European leagues.

Pepe has played 20 games for Arsenal this season, but he’s only started eight of them.

The 26-year-old’s return in those matches is actually pretty good, scoring three and assisting five – one goal contribution every 113 minutes.

But that’s obviously been boosted by League Cup games including against the likes of West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland. In the league, Pepe has just the two goal contributions against Wolves and Norwich City.

They were two very important contributions, the difference between a draw and a win on both occasions.

It just hasn’t been enough to displace the excellent Bukayo Saka from the starting lineup.

Having both Saka and Pepe available is a clear positive for Arsenal. When Saka is unavailable or needs a rest, you won’t find many backup wingers in the Premier League than Pepe.

If he’s unwilling to play that rotation role and Arsenal want to cut their losses while they have the chance, this summer would indeed be the time to make a move.