Nicolas Pepe, the Ivorian forward, has departed Arsenal and has officially joined Trabzonspor in Turkey. Arsenal announced on Saturday that they had canceled his contract.
Arsenal initially acquired the 28-year-old from Ligue 1’s Lille in 2019 for a then-record fee of £72 million ($89.74 million), a record later surpassed when they signed Declan Rice from West Ham United for £105 million in July.
In their statement regarding the contract termination, Arsenal stated, “We have reached an agreement with Nicolas to immediately terminate his contract. Nicolas, the Ivory Coast international who joined us from Lille in the summer of 2019, played a pivotal role in our 2020 FA Cup victory, contributing to our winning goal in the 2-1 triumph over Chelsea. During his time at the club, he made a total of 111 appearances for us in various competitions.
Despite having one year remaining on his contract, the 28-year-old spent the previous season on loan at Ligue 1’s Nice, where he featured in 28 matches and scored eight goals during the campaign. Everyone at Arsenal expresses their gratitude to Nicolas for his contributions during his tenure with us and wishes him success in his future endeavors.”
