Nicolas Pepe has suggested that Arsenal might have integrated him more effectively if he had cost the club less money.

Nicolas Pepe is currently a free agent, less than 12 months after leaving Arsenal to join Turkish Super Lig club Trabzonspor on a one-season deal.

Reflecting on his time with Arsenal, Pepe said that he believes he would have been utilised differently if he hadn’t cost so much money.

“The price is not the players’ fault, they don’t ask for 100 million or 90 million,” Pepe tells BBC Sport. “If Arsenal bought me for 20 million, maybe it’d be different.

“Maybe they’d have spend more time on me, built up my confidence and prepared me for playing in the Premier League. But the price tag obliged them to use me, whether I was ready or not. That’s what I find annoying.”

The quotes follow a recent interview Pepe held with French outlet L’Equipe, where he suggested his treatment from the general public – Arsenal fans excluded – was tantamount to harrassment.

“It was almost harassment,” Pepe said. “I don’t pay attention to social media much but my brother would say to me ‘they said that about you’. Subconsciously, it affected me.

“It also came from the media or some members of the club. They don’t realise that it can play on the mind, on your family and that it has repercussions on performances.

“The only people who have always supported me are the Arsenal supporters.”