Besiktas interested in Arsenal flop Nicolas Pepe

Pepe struggled to make an impression during his first three seasons with the team until spending last season on loan with Nice in his native France, where he scored six goals in 19 Ligue 1 games. 

Since his move to the Emirates from Lille in 2019 for a then-club-record £72 million price, the Ivorian has had a very unpleasant experience.

Pepe still has one year left on his deal with Arsenal, and the Gunners will be looking to recover some of their losses with at least a little price. 

However, Besiktas are apparently hoping that his contract will be revoked and he will be available for a free transfer. 

Fabrizio Romano, as quoted by Daily Mail, claimed that the Turkish powerhouses are interested in signing the Ivorian international and will begin negotiations to explore the form of a potential transaction.

The Gunners are looking to offload the Ivorian and have not joined the team in their previous pre-season friendlies.

However, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta quickly stated that the winger's absence from the team's preseason tour of the United States was exclusively due to injury.

Arteta said as reported by Daily Mail, “At the moment he is recovering from an injury which is why he’s not here.

“He had a spell on loan and obviously we wanted to get much more than we got from that loan spell.

“We have to see when we come back, understand what the plans are and make the right decision for him.”

The Gunners will face league winner Manchester City on Sunday in the Community Shield which is the curtain-raiser for the new season.