Arsenal open to unlikely Nicolas Pepe summer sale

Arsenal would be open to selling Nicolas Pepe in the summer transfer window were they to receive an acceptable offer, a move that would ultimately constitute a total failure on the recruitment side.

Nicolas Pepe’s £72m signing from Lille two years ago already is a failure. 20 goals and 15 assists in 87 appearances and the club have still not paid off the final installments. For a winger that’s a decent return – especially since the minutes per G/A makes for finer reading – but every positive aspect is offset by the figure that was spent to secure him.

There are just two fixtures left for the Ivorian to surpass his goal contributions for last season. Currently sitting on 12 goals and five assists in all competitions, Premier League outings against Crystal Palace and Brighton will give him the chance to reach the 18 he managed last season through eight goals and ten assists.

Next season the target has to be hitting 20+ goal contributions, as well as finding consistency in his displays. Too often this campaign, and the one previous, his dashes of brilliance were lost amid a sea of frustration.

Arsenal open to Nicolas Pepe summer sale despite willing bidders unlikely to splash the cash on £72m winger

Will there be a next season, though? As per Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal will be open to offers in the summer.

"“The feeling around the player is that Arsenal will try again with him [Pepe], will try with Arteta also to build this consideration in Europe and let’s see what happens next season,” he said. “But if an important bid will arrive Arsenal are open to consider.”"

If a club turned around and offered £40m for Pepe, of course Arsenal would have to consider. They’d be foolish not to.

It would be a case of cutting their losses early, but would it be too early? Unai Emery was overruled in his wanting of Wilfried Zaha because the club saw Pepe as the longer term investment. Only in the past few months have Arsenal started to see some semblance of their club record outlay be returned.

As for suitors, you’re looking at a very bold and/or very rich club who decides they can splash out that figure in the current market, on a player who is still to impress at the level expected of him. There won’t be anyone coming in.

What is undeniable is that Pepe is not on the ‘untouchable’ list, albeit a short list at best. He is one of plenty who aren’t free from departure.

However, in the current market there are few explosive inverted wingers with an eye for goal like Pepe. His skillset hasn’t been utilised to its best potential yet, and said potential is precisely what should add hesitancy if Arsenal were, by some miracle, offered a big fee for him.

Finally seeing what he’s capable of, if Mikel Arteta does the right thing and slashes the outrageous 1,900 minutes of football Willian had this season and presents the majority of them to the 25-year-old, then the investment may finally come good on a consistent basis. It will never be £72m worthy, but it can be worthy of a player who will become an integral part of the squad moving forward.