Nicolas Pepe agreed to cut a quarter of his salary to play for OGC Nice on loan this season, according to a report from David Ornstein.

David Ornstein writes for The Athletic that Nicolas Pepe took a 25% pay cut to leave Arsenal for OGC Nice on loan this summer.

Pepe was reportedly earning around £10m a year with Arsenal, but Nice only agreed to pay half of that. Arsenal will contribute 25%, and Pepe has given up the other quarter completely.

This is reportedly unusual for a loan to a club without serious financial difficulties, so it’s a sign of Pepe’s willingness to get playing regularly again.

Pepe made his debut for Nice over the weekend, and he came in for a bit of criticism from his new manager over a lack of rhythm and intensity in the performance.

But that’s not unexpected considering how little Pepe had been playing for Arsenal in the early stages of this season. The eventual benefit of this loan move should be finding that rhythm again.

Pepe didn’t make a competitive appearance for Arsenal this season before his move to Nice, after making 23 appearances and just eight starts for the Gunners last campaign.

It was obvious the 27-year-old needed a change this summer, but it remains to be seen whether it will help him return to the form that saw him join Arsenal in the first place.