Arsenal player gave up 25% of his wages to secure Gunners exit – Was ‘seduced’ by club

Nicolas Pepe gave up 25% of his wages at Arsenal to join Nice on loan in the summer transfer window.

That’s according to L’Equipe, who say the forward was ‘seduced’ by the French club and thus made a sacrifice to make the move happen.

Pepe joined Nice on a season-long loan at the end of August, having found himself down the pecking order at the Emirates.

The arrival of Gabriel Jesus had only added further competition up front and, following a disappointing three years at the club, Arsenal were ready to move him on.

He eventually ended up back in France and L’Equipe provide the details behind the move today.

They say that despite playing in all five of Arsenal’s pre-season games, Pepe was destined to depart and ended up being ‘seduced’ by the Ligue 1 side.

The loan is for one year without an option to buy, but the newspaper says he gave up a quarter of his wages with Arsenal to make it happen.

That means the Gunners are paying him 25% of his current salary while Nice are paying half for the duration of his loan.

The actual figures aren’t shared, but the sacrifice is noteworthy in itself, and hints at how desperate he was to get out of the Emirates this summer.