The Ivorian winger has finally ended his three-year nightmare at Arsenal by going back to the Ligue 1.
French side OGC Nice has finally presented its new signing from Arsenal Nicolas Pepe to its supporters.
The presentation took place just before the kick-off of the club’s Europa Conference League playoff against Maccabi Tel-Aviv on Thursday evening at the Allianz Riviera.
« The Nice public discovered his latest recruit en primeur. Nicolas Pépé was introduced to him just before the start of the Conference League playoffs, » the club stated in a short statement.
Pepe has put pen to paper on a season-long loan from Arsenal that will see him stay at Nice until the summer of 2023.
The Ivory Coast international joined the Gunners from Lille in the summer of 2019 for a club-record fee of £72million (€79m).
However, he has endured a nightmare three years stay at the Emirates and has returned to France to link up with Lucien Favre’s side for the 2022-23 campaign.
Pepe’s struggles at Arsenal
Despite his record-breaking transfer in 2019, after an impressive campaign with Lille, the 27-year-old failed to nail down a starting berth with the Gunners.
The Ivorian made 111 appearances across all competitions during his stay at the Emirates, scoring 27 goals.
Pepe will reunite with his former Gunners teammate Aaron Ramsey, who joined the Ligue 1 on a free transfer after his contract at Juventus was terminated.
The Ivorian started only five (5) matches in the Premier League last season under Mikel Arteta and has not made a single appearance this season for the team in the PL before his move.
He will hope he can make his debut for Nice when they welcome Marseille in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
Pulse
