Why Raphinha to Barcelona could help Arsenal sell transfer flop
Karan Tejwani
- 16 Jul 2022 12:16 BST
- 5 min read
Barcelona completed the signing of Raphinha from Leeds United for £58 million, and that could work in favour of Arsenal, who could let go of one of their players.
Leeds and Barcelona had been in negotiations for weeks, and only completed a deal earlier this week with the Brazilian being presented to the Blaugrana faithful.
That has left Leeds looking for replacements, despite already making moves for several players this year, and it could benefit Arsenal.
The Yorkshire club reportedly have eyes on Nicolas Pepe as one of their targets, with the Gunners also keen to get rid of the Ivorian winger.
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Pepe has struggled at Arsenal since his mammoth move in 2019 from Lille, and has only gone further down the pecking order under Mikel Arteta in the past season.
The Gunners already have a host of attacking options such as Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and others, leaving Pepe with few chances to break into the team.
Arsenal have been keen on offloading Pepe for a while now, and the opportunity could now arise as Leeds look for a player to join their ranks, possibly even on a loan deal.
Arteta’s side are willing to accept a loss on the player, having paid £72 million for him three years ago, and would now be willing to accept a fee close to £25 million.
Other than Leeds, there is also interest in Pepe from Spain, as Sevilla are considering a move for the winger, however, they could facing an obstacle due to his wage demands.
Pepe currently earns £100,000-a-week at Arsenal, and Sevilla are hoping that he will be willing to accept a reduction if he wishes to join the La Liga side.
Pepe has made 112 appearances for the Gunners over the last three seasons, scoring 27 goals and providing 21 assists, but only scored thrice last season, as he found time on the pitch hard to come by.
