French side Nice have confirmed that Nicolas Pepe will return to Arsenal this summer, choosing not to enter negotiations over a permanent deal.
Pepe spent the season on loan in the south of France, making a total of 28 appearances as injury blighted his campaign. Despite managing to score eight goals and register one assist, the Ivorian winger largely failed to impress and Nice - who are owned by prospective Manchester United buyer Sir Jim Ratcliffe - announced on Friday that he'll be heading back to North London.
Pepe, 28, has just one year remaining on his Arsenal contract, putting the Gunners under pressure to find a buyer during the summer transfer window or risk losing him on a free in 12 months' time. His predicament adds to boss Mikel Arteta's many headaches as he attempts to raise funds, with the 28-year-old remaining Arsenal's record signing at £72million, having joined from Lille in 2019.
Firstly failing to impress under former manager Unai Emery and then Arteta, Pepe was shipped out to the Allianz Riviera Stadium for the 2022-23 season. The Ivory Coast international enjoyed promising spells of form but failed to maintain consistency due to a lack of regular fitness.
According to L'Equipe, Pepe had been open to staying at Nice but it now looks extremely unlikely that he'll return there next season. In a recent interview with francebleu, the £72m man declared: "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 the 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. I spent my time taking good care of myself and working. Today, yes, I am at 100% of my means even if it will take me a little time to find the pace.
"Despite the injury, I wanted to stay with the team and come to training, I've always done it like that. With the series we're doing, we want to finish well. We didn't lose. a lot of players for this end of the season so I want to help."
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Arteta has rarely been asked about Pepe's situation throughout the season, only admitting that it was always going to be difficult for him to meet expectations at Arsenal due to his record-breaking transfer fee. "I think Nico has tried to deal with that [the price tag] in the best possible way, he is not responsible for the price a club pays for him," the Gunners manager explained last August.
"He has tried everything, his attitude and the way he is is just phenomenal. You just have to meet the person because you just love him for the way he is.
"But then in terms of the decision you have to make on the pitch, who do you select, we made other decisions and obviously that has had an impact on the chances he had to prove his quality."
