Mikel Arteta will look to bring in a replacement for Nicolas Pepe before next week's deadline

‘He’s not responsible for the price the club paid for him’: Mikel Arteta defends Arsenal’s £72m flop Nicolas Pepe as Ivorian departs on loan but insists Gunners have been preparing for his exit for two months and a ‘plan’

  • Mikel Arteta has defended record-signing Nicolas Pepe after loan move to Nice 
  • The Gunners are now in the market for a new winger head of transfer deadline 
  • Arsenal have been linked with Yeremy Pino, Moussa Diaby and Pedro Neto 
  • Arteta’s side are only club with 100% record at the start of the current season  

Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal remain in the hunt for a new winger after the departure of club-record signing Nicolas Pepe.

Pepe, who first joined for £72million back in 2019, headed on loan to Nice this week as Arsenal continue to shed fringe players before next week’s deadline.

The club’s plan has long involved shifting one attacker before bringing a new one in. And though they fear being priced out of a move for Wolves’ Pedro Neto, Arteta insists the strategy hasn’t changed.

Mikel Arteta will look to bring in a replacement for Nicolas Pepe before next week's deadline

Mikel Arteta will look to bring in a replacement for Nicolas Pepe before next week’s deadline 

Nicolas Pepe secured a season-long loan to Nice this week, after struggling at The Emirates

Nicolas Pepe secured a season-long loan to Nice this week, after struggling at The Emirates 

‘If we can implement the plan that we have, we will try to do it,’ Arteta said ahead of Saturday’s visit of Fulham.

‘In that plan, that (Pepe leaving) was something that could happen. Now it is a reality and we have been preparing the last two months in order to achieve what we want.

‘Whether that is possible or not, we will see.’

Arsenal have also been linked with moves for Yeremy Pino of Villarreal and Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby.

Arteta said news that Arsenal are on UEFA’s watchlist over Financial Fair Play regulations would not impact any possible incomings.

‘We are compliant and have heard nothing,’ he said.

‘The club has been very disciplined all the time and with a very clear vision of how we want to do things… nothing changes.’

The Gunners paid a club record £72million to bring Pepe to the club in 2019, but he's struggled

The Gunners paid a club record £72million to bring Pepe to the club in 2019, but he’s struggled 

Arsenal remain in talks with the likes of Hector Bellerin over possible departures from the club.

Pepe’s move came after numerous conversations with Arteta about increasing his playing time.

‘He is not responsible for the price a club pays for him. He has tried everything, his attitude and the way he is, is just phenomenal. You just have to meet the person because you just love him for the way he is,’ the manager said.

‘They believed at the time that it was the best player they could get… some days it is not that easy. You see that everywhere. You get a top, top player, put him in a different context and suddenly it doesn’t work. This industry is quite complicated. We try to minimise the risk as much as possible but at the end of the day they’re not machines, they’re human beings.’

Arsenal have started the new season in fine form with three wins from their first three games

Arsenal have started the new season in fine form with three wins from their first three games 

Arteta expects a busy final few days of the window and claims the Premier League’s spending power is now unlike anything he’s seen.

‘If you look at the players who are coming, the amount of money spent, the level that the squad had and what they are adding it’s something that I haven’t experienced in this league… I think it’s going to be very powerful,’ he said.

‘When you look at the points you need to achieve certain things it’s never happened before. The level has raised so much for every team in this league and you can already see that in these first few games with surprises and results.’

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