Nicolas Pepe, the Ivorian winger, continues to be an Arsenal player as his speculated move to a Saudi Arabian club hits an unexpected hurdle, leaving him stuck in London.

• Nicolas Pepe‘s speculated move from Arsenal to Saudi Arabia has unexpectedly collapsed.
• The Ivorian international had been offered a lucrative package including a €5 million net salary and significant bonuses.
• The player is currently injured which is why he is not on tour with Arsenal.

Pepe’s anticipated Saudi move collapses, Ivorian remains at Arsenal

The highly speculated move of Nicolas Pepe from Arsenal to an unnamed Saudi Arabian club has collapsed according to CBS Sports.

The Ivorian winger had been lined up for a lucrative deal involving a €5 million net salary alongside significant bonuses.

The Arab club had hoped to capitalise on the current trend of big Premier League names moving to the Saudi Pro League, with recent examples being Jordan Henderson and Riyad Mahrez moving from Liverpool and Manchester City respectively.

However, for reasons we do not yet know, the club has decided to pursue other targets, leaving Pepe’s position at Arsenal unchanged for the time being.

As the talks crumbled, questions over Pepe’s future at Arsenal have been brought into sharp focus. With the Saudi deal off the table, it appears Arsenal will have to look elsewhere for a club willing to take the €72m-man off their hands.

Arteta on Pepe

Speaking before Arsenal’s game against Manchester United on Saturday night, Mikel Arteta was asked about Pepe.

“At the moment he is recovering from an injury which is why he’s not here,” the manager replied.

“He had a spell on loan and obviously we wanted to get much more than we got from that loan spell. We have to see when we come back, understand what the plans are and make the right decision for him.”