Arsenal Transfer News: Nicolas Pepe Rules Out January Move, Exit Rumours

[ad_1]

Lille's Ivorian forward Nicolas Pepe celebrates after scoring a goal during the French L1 football match between Amiens and Lille at the Licorne stadium in Amiens, northern France, on August 26, 2018. (Photo by FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP)        (Photo credit should read FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/AFP/Getty Images)

FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/Getty Images

Lille winger Nicolas Pepe has ruled out any chance of joining alleged admirers Arsenal in the January transfer window, robustly denying departure rumours despite his recent spiral in form. 

Pepe enjoyed a breakthrough campaign at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy last term, netting 13 times in 36 appearances, but he told Telefoot (h/t Sport Witness, via Tashan Deniran-Alleyne of Football.London) he’s not interested in a winter exit: “No, I’m not leaving.”

The report also cited L’Equipe (h/t Mirror), which reported earlier in September that the Gunners were competing alongside Lyon, Sevilla and Real Betis for the 23-year-old.

The Ivory Cost international has scored five goals and recorded three assists in eight Ligue 1 outings this season, which puts him on the top shelf when it comes to the division’s attackers this term, per OptaJean:

That being said, it appears as though Pepe is settled in Lille for the time being after enjoying his first season at the club, having only managed to net three times in 40 appearances for Angers.

The Gunners have been posting striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out wide of late and are short on natural wide options after the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain left in recent years.

Pepe’s strike ratio at his previous club equated to 0.06 goals per game, a fraction of the 0.41 goals he’s averaging with his current outfit.

The winger’s best performance this season came in a 3-2 win over Amiens in September, when he bagged a match-winning hat-trick. More recently, he converted a penalty in Sunday’s 3-0 victory over Marseille, as well as winning a second spot-kick for Jonathan Bamba to tuck home, via Goal:

Sport Witness also attested to L’Equipe‘s stellar rating of Pepe so far this season, trumping Paris Saint-Germain maestro Neymar in the ratings:

Arsene Wenger may have left the Arsenal helm, but it appears the club can’t help but be associated with the most promising talent coming out of France.

Pepe appears to be enjoying his time under Lille coach Christopher Galtier for the time being, however, and is demonstrating laser focus in a bid to maintain his fast start to the season.

Share this post if you enjoyed! 🙂

Read more at this link (News Source).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.