Arsenal 'paid way too much' for £140k-a-week star at the Emirates | OneFootball

Arsenal spent way too much money on Nicolas Pépé, according to journalist Dean Jones.

The winger is the Gunners' record signing after joining them from Lille in a £72m deal, as reported by BBC Sport, but is currently on loan at Nice.

It doesn't look like Pépé is keen on returning to Arsenal in the summer, with reports suggesting that he's open to remaining at Nice.

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According to L'Equipe, the 27-year-old is definitely not against the idea of staying with Didier Digard's side beyond this season.

As per Transfermarkt, Pépé has scored eight goals in 25 appearances for Nice in the current campaign.

While he's now getting regular game time again in France, he's missed some of the season because of a knee injury.

What has Dean Jones said about Nicolas Pépé and Arsenal?

Jones thinks Arsenal and Stan Kroenke overpaid for Pépé and can't see any way back for him at the Emirates.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the transfer insider said: "They paid way too much for him. I haven't heard that there's going to be any way back for him, and the way that this team has evolved since he left suggests that there's no point now even trying."

Will Nicolas Pépé return to Arsenal this summer?

Arsenal have moved on from Pépé, with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli truly flourishing at the Emirates right now.

The former has scored 12 goals in the Premier League this season, while the latter has netted 13 (via Transfermarkt), helping Mikel Arteta's side to climb to the top of the table.

Pépé, whose Arsenal contract is worth £140,000 a week, according to Spotrac, isn't a terrible player. His final season at Lille, for example, was really impressive.

As per WhoScored, the Ivory Coast international scored 22 goals and provided 11 assists in 38 Ligue 1 appearances — brilliant numbers. He also completed 2.7 dribbles per game, which was the highest average in Lille's squad.

Unfortunately for Arsenal, for whatever reason, he wasn't able to replicate that kind of form in the Premier League.

So again, Pépé's failures in north London don't make him a bad footballer. He can bring something to a team's attack.