Nicolas Pepe's message hints at Arsenal role after private Mikel Arteta talks

Nicolas Pepe is determined to block out the noise surrounding his Arsenal future.

It emerged last week that the Ivorian attracted interest from Marseille and Lyon with both sides keen on securing a January move for the forward.

Marseille wanted to bring Pepe to the south of France along with his compatriot and Manchester United defender Eric Bailly.

Lyon were also said to hold an 'equally' strong interest in the player, according to French outlet L'Equipe via GFFN.

Pepe has failed to live up to his lofty £72million price tag since his switch from Lille in the summer of 2019 and has found himself on the fringes of the first team during the first half of the season.

football.london claimed in December that Pepe was going to assess his options in the winter window just gone by, should his situation at Arsenal continue to deteriorate with Mikel Arteta reportedly willing to cut his losses with the forward.

Does Nicolas Pepe have a future at Arsenal or should they cut their losses in the summer? Comment below

But it appears he wasn't interested in a return to France despite being frozen out of Arteta's side as the deadline passed without anything materialising.

Pepe hasn't been pleased about his lack of playing time as Arteta revealed that he approached him about his minutes before their emphatic 5-1 win over Sunderland in the Carabao Cup last month, where he got on the scoresheet and registered two assists.

He said: "A player that doesn't play if he's happy we have a big problem.

"Nico has not been happy and asking for more minutes. This is the attitude we want from our players."

Pepe hasn't played much football for Arsenal since that report came to light, but he has been away on international duty for Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations.

And it seems like he has come back with a renewed sense of focus and is willing to fight his way into Arteta's plans, shutting out all the speculation surrounding his future.

He linked up with his Arsenal teammates at their warm-weather training camp in Dubai last week and had two simple words for Arsenal fans - "I'm back."

Ian Wright reckons it's "last chance saloon" for the 26-year-old at his former club, however, and he needs to stand up and be counted after Pierre-Emerick Aubamyeang's departure.

"Up to this point he's not used Pepe in any way that makes me think he's got love for Pepe," he told Wrighty's House podcast.

"I think Pepe might be in the last chance saloon, with the number of games he hasn't played

"I'd like to see something from him."