Nicolas Pepe injury rules him out of Arsenal’s pre-season tour of America

Mikel Arteta has confirmed that an injury ruled Nicolas Pepe out of Arsenal’s pre-season tour of America.

The Ivory Coast international spent last season on loan at Nice where he managed just 27 appearances in all competitions, scoring a modest eight goals.

Arsenal spent a then club-record £72million to sign the winger from Lille in the summer of 2019 but he demonstrated only flashes of the potential that convinced the Gunners to sign him from the Ligue 1 club.

Bukayo Saka’s emergence almost immediately relegated Pepe in Arteta’s pecking order and there appears no way back for him with just a year left on his current contract at Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta on Nicolas Pepe’s Injury

‘At the moment he is recovering from an injury which is why he’s not here,’ Arteta explained at a press conference ahead of tonight’s friendly against Manchester United.

‘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.’

Nicolas Pepe Confirms His Intention to Return to Arsenal

Speaking earlier this month, meanwhile, Pepe confirmed his inteintion to Arsenal and has dismissed claims he had a poor relationship with Arteta

‘I will return to Arsenal. I was loaned without an option to buy so I have to go back to Arsenal,’ Pepe told YouTube channel Colinterview..

‘I don’t know [about my future] yet. When I get back, I’ll speak with the coach and everyone and see what everyone’s ideas are and then we’ll make a decision.’

Mikel Arteta Improved Nicolas Pepe’s Game

On his relationship with Arteta, he continued: ‘People say that he identified me as a player that wasn’t up to the level in his team, in his philosophy. It’s completely false.

‘When he arrived, he had Manchester City’s philosophy. He had a squad that was filled with quality and backups in every position. When he spoke to me, he said he counted on me, he wanted me to do this or that, and you have to focus on that.

‘He improved me in every way. He spoke to me the whole time, I watched videos with his assistants all the time. He really believed in me. He said I had incredible potential, so we need to extract that potential.

‘At the end of the first season, he spoke with me and told me to do this or that. The second season comes along, I was a substitute. I was going mad. How could I be a substitute when he said he counted on me? Everything is spinning in your head.

‘I was a substitute for [what felt like] 10 matches. It was at the time when they signed Willian. He is a number 10 or a winger. But he plays on