Has Arteta hinted at Arsenal’s first summer sale?
Robin Bairner
- 9 May 2022 20:17 BST
- 3 min read
While the transfer news at Arsenal primarily revolves around players that manager Mikel Arteta wants to sign, the Gunners boss may just have dropped a hint towards the first player who will be out of the door in the summer.
Arsenal are set for a return to the Champions League after a 2-1 win over Leeds on Sunday left them comfortably fourth, with Eddie Nketiah staking a claim for a new contract after scoring his fourth and fifth goals of the season.
Arteta, though, was not entirely happy with what his frontline produced and pointed the finger at Nicolas Pepe for a poor decision that might have cost his side dear.
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Pepe came on as a second-half replacement for Bukayo Saka but missed a glorious opportunity when he rejected the chance to shoot with his right foot and instead checked onto his left, allowing the visiting defence time to recover. It was a decision that did not go down well with Arteta.
“When you see that he’s got an empty net in front of him and he’s taking a touch backward, we cannot really understand but you have to have the perception of the player in that moment,” the Spaniard told the club’s official website.
“They are the ones who make the decisions, and fortunately, we didn’t need that goal.”
Nicolas Pepe's debut season in the Premier League was better than Jadon Sancho's 👀 pic.twitter.com/7wsABp6HEQ
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) May 9, 2022
Pepe has never cut a convincing figure under Arteta and has struggled for confidence since arriving at Arsenal on a huge €80 million deal from Lille in 2019. Indeed, he has regularly been linked with a move away from the club.
Such a declaration from the manager, meanwhile, does not bode well for his future. It was made very publicly and on a platform that was entirely conspicuous to Arsenal fans.
Arteta has been ruthless in clearing the likes of Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out of Arsenal when they failed to come up to scratch in terms of their discipline, and now Pepe could be next due to his on-field failures.
