Major Arsenal transfer COLLAPSES

Tom Hancock

• 20 Jul 2023 12:03 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal have suffered a setback in their attempts to offload Nicolas Pepe, after talks with an unnamed Saudi club reportedly collapsed.

The Gunners are looking to get their one-time record signing off the wage bill for good, having loaned him out to Nice last season.

Nice had the option to make the deal for the Ivory Coast international permanent but ultimately decided against doing so, leaving Arsenal searching for a buyer.

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Pepe had been the subject of interest from the Saudi Pro League, but CBS Sports are reporting that the unknown suitor have dropped their interest in the 28-year-old.

A £72m (€80m) arrival from Lille back in 2019, it’s fair to say his time at Arsenal has been less than successful – with a return of just 14 goals in 80 Premier League appearances.

The deal certainly hasn’t represented value for money for the Gunners – who recently smashed their transfer record by bringing in Declan Rice from West Ham for an initial £100m, which could rise to £105m with various add-ons.

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Pepe to depart for peanuts?

Such is Arsenal’s desperation to be rid of Pele that they could, it has been reported, even terminate his contract.

Clearly, though, that would be less than ideal, and the Gunners will surely want to generate as high a fee for the forward as possible.

Doing so would help them offset their significant transfer outlay during the current window, which has also seen Kai Havertz arrive from Chelsea in a £67.5m.

Arsenal have offloaded only two first-team players so far this summer: Pablo Mari, something of a forgotten man, has moved to Monza for £6m (£6.9m), with Granit Xhaka joining Bayer Leverkusen for £21.4 (€24.6m).