At the time, Arsenal broke their transfer record, paying a staggering £72 million for the Ivory Coast international's services.
This significant fee outdid all competitors, as Pepe signed a five-year contract with Arsenal under the management of Unai Emery. The 28-year-old made his move to England after an impressive 2018-19 Ligue 1 season, where he scored 22 goals and provided 11 assists. However, he struggled to replicate that form in the Premier League.
Pepe's underwhelming four-year stint in North London concluded recently when Arsenal terminated his contract, allowing him to join Turkish club Trabzonspor on a free transfer. Arsenal initially hoped to secure a transfer fee for the player, but no suitable offers materialized.
Rather than continue to pay his reported weekly wages of £150,000 for the final year of his contract, Arsenal decided to cancel his deal, incurring a significant loss on their £72 million investment.
The Evening Standard reports that Arsenal still owes approximately £10 million as part of the transfer fee, which was spread over Pepe's five-year contract. During the 2022-23 season, while on loan at French club Nice, Pepe is believed to have had only half of his wages covered by Arsenal, and he agreed to a salary reduction of around 25%.
Pepe's stint at Nice saw him score eight goals in 28 games at the Allianz Riviera, but he faced challenges with injuries. Upon his return to Arsenal, Mikel Arteta informed him that he had no future at the club.
During his time at Arsenal, Pepe scored 27 goals and provided 21 assists in 112 games, winning an FA Cup in his debut season at the Emirates. In the 2020-21 campaign, he had a moderately successful individual season, scoring 16 goals in all competitions, including 10 in the Premier League.
However, in the 2021-22 Premier League season, Pepe only managed one goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers and was expected to be lower in the pecking order for the following season, behind Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira.
While Arsenal has attempted to move away from high-profile contract terminations in recent months, Pepe joins a list of notable names who left the club in this manner, including Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Hector Bellerin, Willian, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and Sokratis.
Notably, Pepe is the only senior Arsenal player whose contract was terminated this summer, as the club received transfer fees for other players such as Folarin Balogun, Granit Xhaka, Matt Turner, Auston Trusty, Rob Holding, and Pablo Mari, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles departed on a free transfer after the expiration of his contract.
