Nicolas Pepe has 4 options as deadline brought forward to complete £2m transfer

Nicolas Pepe is not part of Mikel Arteta's plans for this season and has a new deadline to complete a move to the Saudi Pro League and earn Arsenal a transfer fee

Time is slowly running out for Nicolas Pepe to seal his Arsenal exit.

The winger, who prior to Declan Rice's arrival from West Ham in July was the club's most expensive signing after completing a £72million move from Lille in the summer of 2019, has recently returned to N5 after spending last season on loan with Ligue 1 outfit OGC Nice.

As a result, Pepe has several options with regard to his next move. One is to stay at Arsenal and see out the final nine months of his deal and depart on a free transfer next summer. Having said that, as reported by football.london all summer, a mutual contract termination is not off the table.

But with the African Cup of Nations taking place in his home country in January, there's an incentive for the winger to leave the Emirates Stadium in the next week or so and join a club where he will play regularly if he's to have any chance of being named in Jean-Louis Gasset's final squad.

And the good news for Pepe is despite the transfer window in England closing last week, he can still complete a transfer. Although, he's potentially facing a race against the clock to make a decision amid a change of plans with regard to deadline day in the Saudi Pro League

Should he wish to move to Saudi Arabia, then he already has the blessing of the Arsenal manager who has accepted that he would be powerless to stop an Arsenal player from leaving for the Saudi Pro League, recognising them as a new competitor in the transfer market.

"We have to compare. In other countries, they will look at the Premier League and say 'if a Premier League club comes in we