Arsenal club record signing Pepe leaves on a free transfer

Arsenal have let Nicolas Pepe go on a free transfer just four years after the French winger joined the Premier League club for a club record transfer fee.

The 28-year-old signed for the Gunners in 2019, leaving Lille for a huge £72 million transfer fee. It remained the club’s biggest outlay on a single player until this summer, when they spent £105m on Declan Rice.

But the north London outfit have cut their losses, terminating Pepe’s contract ahead of a move to Turkish side Trabzonspor.

Pepe made 112 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 27 times, but he has not played under Mikel Arteta since May 2022.

The Frenchman spent last season on loan with OGC Nice and has been in Istanbul this weekend ahead of signing a deal with the Super Lig club.

In a video posted on the club’s Twitter account, in which Pepe is on a private jet, the player says: “I came here to become a champion and achieve success.”

Arsenal statement on Nicolas Pepe in full:

We have agreed with Nicolas to terminate his contract with immediate effect.

Ivory Coast international Nicolas, who joined us from French side Lille in summer 2019, won the FA Cup with us in 2020, assisting our winning goal in the 2-1 victory over Chelsea. During his time at the club, the forward has made 111 appearances for us in all competitions.

The 28-year-old, who had one year left on his contract, spent last season on loan at Ligue 1 side Nice, where he made 28 appearances, scoring eight goals during the campaign.

Everyone at Arsenal thanks Nicolas for his contribution during his time with us and wish him well for the future.

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