Arsenal recently terminated the contract of former record-signing Nicolas Pepe, and a mistake in this deal has now been highlighted.
Pepe joined Arsenal in 2019 for a then-record £72m, but his overall underwhelming Arsenal career ended with the club paying him to leave.
Football agent Bernard Collignon has now claimed that Arsenal were expecting an offer from Saudi Arabia for the winger, but no offer arrived and they had waited so long that only the Turkish transfer window was still open.
Arsenal’s Pepe mistake highlighted
Speaking to The Guardian, Collignon, who represents former Everton player Jean-Philippe Gbamin, highlighted that Arsenal found themselves in a difficult situation with Pepe towards the end of the window.
“We found the agreement of cancelling the contract 20 minutes before the deadline, at 11.40pm. Once the deadline is passed, you cannot cancel the contract in the same way,” he stated.
“Nicolas Pépé and his agent wanted to do the same thing, but Arsenal thought they would have an offer from Saudi Arabia, so they waited. No offer came. So they released Nicolas on 8 September. Because he had lost a week, the only option then was to sign for a club in Turkey, as this was the only window that was still open.”
Pepe’s departure from Arsenal
Although talented, Pepe’s time at Arsenal was a failure, and departing through a contract termination highlights what a disaster his move was.
Mikel Arteta had described Pepe as “phenomenal,” and there were occasions where he really shone, but he was unsuitable for Arsenal’s current style, and his lack of suitors in the summer window emphasised the difficult task Arsenal had in trying to sell him.
Arsenal could have perhaps terminated his deal earlier to save more on his wages, and he could have moved elsewhere during the main summer window, but the lack of interest in him from elsewhere, including Saudi Arabia, meant that Arsenal’s hands were tied.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
