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One of Arsenal’s forgotten men, Nicolas Pépé, could be set for a move to join Turkish club Beşiktaş.
He was the club’s record signing when he was bought from Lille for £72 million, even though he was the diametric opposite of what the manager Unai Emery wanted at the time. He was looking to sign a right footed left-winger who was Premier League proven, and instead he got a left-footed right winger who had never played outside Ligue 1.
Under Mikel Arteta, Pépé saw his star eclipsed by the emerging talent that was Bukayo Saka, and he was sent out on loan to Nice last season, where he was largely underwhelming.
He has not returned to pre-season training at the Emirates, and, although he still has a year left on his current deal at the Emirates, the club may be willing to pay off his contract in order to get him off their books.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.