Tonight's Ligue 1 offering between Marseille and Nice was supposed to hand Arsenal an opportunity to run the rule over two loanees as well as several former players.
However, whilst Nuno Tavares is expected to be in action for the hosts - alongside Matteo Guendouzi, Alexis Sanchez and Sead Kolasinac - there won't be a mini-Gunners reunion with Nicolas Pepe as the winger has, unfortunately, been ruled out of the clash through injury.
Having missed the meeting against former club Lille last weekend as well as the 1-0 win over Lens in midweek, it has since been confirmed by interim Nice boss Didier Digard that Arsenal's £72m record signing has "tendonitis" in his knee and it remains to be seen how long he will be out of action for.
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"We will put a protocol in place," Digard revealed when delivering an update on the 27-year-old earlier in the week, as per the club's official website. "It is mainly his reaction to the treatment that will determine the length of his absence."
Such is the severity of the knee injury that on Saturday evening when Nice announced, via social media, the travelling squad for tonight's clash at the Stade Velodrome, Pepe was not included in the list alongside ex-Gunners midfielder Aaron Ramsey and former Chelsea star Ross Barkley.
As a result, the Ivory Coast international has been denied the chance to place himself in the shop window ahead of the summer transfer window as he's one of several Arsenal loanees that can command a fee at the end of the season, assuming he has no long-term future under Mikel Arteta.
Ironically, Pepe made his Nice debut in the reverse fixture earlier in the season - a 3-0 defeat - and was criticised by then-manager Lucien Favre after the game for his lack of intensity, especially when defending.
"He's got to get back into the swing of things. He hasn't played for a long time in England," Favre said. "He did his pre-season with Arsenal but didn't play a match, so he lacks a bit of rhythm and intensity tracking back, in the pressing and recovering the ball, because that's what everyone has to do, there are no exceptions.
"If one or two players don't do the job, the whole team has a problem. Everyone has to do it at the same time, defend together to get the ball back and then play. We have to be ready, we are professionals. Winning the ball back is important in any sport."
It's safe to say Pepe's performances have improved since as his eight goals across all competitions made him Nice's leading scorer heading into the Marseille clash - one ahead of Andy Delort who departed for fellow Ligue 1 outfit Nantes on loan during the January transfer window.
With that said, Nuno Tavares, if his performances since joining Marseille last July are anything to go by, is another loanee who can realistically earn Arsenal a nice windfall this summer and if selected to start tonight will look to add to his five goals for the season.
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