Arsenal outcast hints that Mikel Arteta will regret letting him go and says ‘I could have been important for this club’
ARSENAL outcast Nicolas Pepe has hinted that Mikel Arteta will regret letting him go if he leaves the club permanently.
The Ivorian was signed by the Gunners for a fee of £72million in 2019 from Lille.
After three seasons in North London, he was loaned out to French side Nice for the current campaign.
Pepe is uncertain on where his future lies, telling France Bleu: “I’m very happy at Nice, there are still two important months for the club.
“I want to focus on the last two months and then rest, I don’t know. There will be discussions.
“I don’t know what Arsenal want to do. I still have a lot of friends there.
“I could have been important for this club, but it’s the manager’s choices.”
Pepe has just a year remaining on his contract at the Emirates Stadium.
He has played 25 times for Nice this season, scoring eight goals.
The club, owned by potential Man Utd buyer Sir Jim Ratcliffe, sit seventh in Ligue 1 and are in the quarter-finals of the Conference League.
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In an Arsenal shirt, Pepe has played 112 matches, scoring 27 goals.
He also helped the club win the FA Cup in 2020.
The emergence of Bukayo Saka led to Pepe’s place in the team being taken.