Mikel Arteta has revealed why Nicolas Pepe did not travel with the rest of the Arsenal squad for pre-season.
The Ivorian is expected to leave the club this summer after failing to make an impact while on loan at Nice last season.
He is no longer in the first team plan at the Emirates and recently saw a move to an unnamed Saudi Arabian club collapse.
Arsenal has a big squad and must trim it down before the transfer window closes, but Mikel Arteta is giving chances to every player to prove their worth.
Pepe was left at home by the Gunners as they travelled to the USA and Arteta has revealed that the winger is injured.
He said via Mirror Football:
“At the moment he is recovering from an injury which is why he’s not here.
“He had a spell on loan and obviously we wanted to get much more than we got from that loan spell. We have to see when we come back, understand what the plans are and make the right decision for him.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Pepe has missed his chance to do well on our books and the Ivorian has just himself to blame.
Every manager he has worked with at the Emirates tried their best to get him to hit top form, but it never happened. He needs to find a new home and leave the Emirates now.
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Hope’s Pepe finds a club he can truly call home, football has been cruel to him.
Another chance missed, who knows what’d be like had he made the trip to the USA.