Arsenal trio Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe are all set for January exits from north London.
That’s according to reports that suggest that trouble-making captain Aubameyang is not alone in seeking pastures new – and could well be joined by Lacazette and Pepe, as Mikel Arteta hits the reset button with some of the more experienced members of his team.
The trio combined cost the Gunners around £180 million, each breaking the club’s transfer record.
Lacazette joined in the summer of 2017 with Arsenal freshly qualified for the Europa League after two decades of Champions League football. The Frenchman was a £50m acquistion from Lyon with Aubameyang arriving just months later from Borussia Dortmund, with the Gunners floundering that season.
Aubameyang cost £60m and failed to fire his new side into the Champions League – but has scored valuable goals, including the FA Cup final strikes in 2020. Pepe joined in 2019 for £72m and has struggled for consistency.
Gabon striker Aubameyang was the subject of disciplinary issues last week and yesterday saw his captaincy revoked in the wake of his off-field issues. It’s expected that Arteta will try to move the forward on as soon as possible, with Ivorian flop Pepe struggling for game time, too.
Pepe has been earmarked for exit for a couple of months now. The Emirates hierarchy is believed to want to settle for £25m for the winger.
Lacazette, meanwhile, is expected to lead the line in Aubameyang’s absence but the 30-year-old is running down his contract and is available for nothing in the summer. Arsenal apparently feel they may as well capitalise on him now while they can and bring in a suitable replacement.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Dusan Vlahovic, Andrea Belotti and Dejan Kulusevski have all been linked with moves to London Colney in recent weeks.