Negotiations are ongoing for Nicolas Pepe to join OGC Nice after he was left out of Arsenal’s squad on Saturday, and Sevilla aren’t currently in the race.

Fabrizio Romano reports that talks are continuing between Arsenal and OGC Nice over a loan deal for Nicolas Pepe, with the Gunners telling Pepe he has to find a new team as soon as possible.

Romano adds that despite some rumours to the contrary, Sevilla haven’t made a proposal for Pepe at this stage.

It certainly seems like progress is being made in Arsenal’s attempts to offload Pepe for the season, as he was left out of the matchday squad to face Bournemouth on Saturday.

Arsenal are ideally looking to replace Pepe with a new winger through the remainder of the transfer window, but it seems Fabio Vieira will be their alternative to Bukayo Saka if that fails.

Mikel Arteta reportedly requested Arsenal u21 coach Mehmet Ali use the summer signing on the right-wing in his start for the u21s on Wednesday, and it was Vieira who came in for Pepe on the bench this weekend.

The Gunners clearly think there’s a chance Pepe completes his move away from the club in the coming days, so it’s not worth risking him in a competitive match in the meantime.

But with less than two weeks until the end of the transfer window, it’s going to be a race against time to get something done.