"Mikel Arteta has made it clear" - Journalist confirms Arsenal manager's stance on forgotten attacker Nicolas Pepe

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has made up his mind on Nicolas Pepe's future at the Emirates, according to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth. The Spanish boss reportedly does not have the Ivorian forward in his plans at the north London club.

The Gunners signed Pepe in the summer of 2019 from Ligue 1 side Lille for a club-record fee of £72 million. The Ivory Coast international was brought in by former Gunners boss Unai Emery.

Pepe seems to have fallen out of favor at the north London outfit. The 27-year-old forward only managed to score one goal in 20 Premier League appearances last season. He is currently on loan in Ligue 1 at OGC Nice, and his contract at the London club is set to expire in 2024.

The Gunners seem reluctant to offer a contract extension for the Ivorian forward, according to Sheth, who wrote on Give Me Sport (via HITC):

“I don’t even think the form of those players [Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli] is going to have an impact at all because I think Mikel Arteta has made it clear that he’s not in his plans. He wasn’t a Mikel Arteta signing, remember. This was a signing made by Unai Emery and Emery has since said he actually wanted to sign Wilfried Zaha."

He added:

"But the club decided that they were going to go for Nicolas Pepe. Maybe because of his attributes and maybe because of his age as well.”

The Gunners will resume Premier League action in their upcoming fixture against Leeds United at the Emirates on Saturday (April 1).

"I think that helps" - Paul Merson cites key advantage Manchester City could use against Arsenal in title race

Paul Merson has claimed that Manchester City's delayed schedule of fixtures relative to that of Arsenal could be advantageous for them in this season's title race.

The Gunners and the Cityzens both have their first league encounter after the international break on April 1. However, Pep Guardiola's side will lock horns with Liverpool before Mikel Arteta's men face Leeds United on Saturday,

Merson believes this may relieve some of the pressure on Manchester City since a victory for Arsenal would see them move 11 points clear if their match preceded City's game against Liverpool.

Merson wrote in his column for Sky Sports:

"I have said for a while now that we get to the final months of the season, the title could be decided by who plays first between Man City and Arsenal. With that in mind, the schedule looks to have dropped in favour of Man City. If Arsenal had been first up against Leeds this coming weekend and won the game, the pressure on Man City against Liverpool would have been mind blowing."

He added:

"However, that's not the way it has worked out. They can treat it like their game in hand and a win would see them go five points behind again, piling the pressure on Arsenal against Leeds. This also happens for the next couple of weeks, so I think that helps City."

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