Arsenal's qualification for the Champions League next term will ensure a bigger transfer kitty when the window opens in a few months' time.

Edu and co will need to spend if they are to compete across all fronts, with a table among Europe's elite dictating that a bigger squad is essential.

Combine that with the fact that the Gunners are still some way off matching the quality of Manchester City and it's clear Mikel Arteta needs fresh faces if his revolution is to continue in north London.

Extra funds could well be generated from player sales, with the squad still needing to be gutted of those who were brought in under old regimes.

The likes of Rob Holding, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Pablo Mari and co will likely be granted departures, but perhaps the largest sum could come from Nicolas Pepe.

A fresh report from The Telegraph suggests the Ivorian is 'unlikely' to feature for the club again after his loan with Nice expires.

What went wrong for Nicolas Pepe at Arsenal?

Signed for a club-record fee of £72m during Unai Emery's reign at the Emirates, the winger's time at Arsenal has simply been a tail of woe.

That being said, despite being labelled as a "disaster" by journalist Matt Spiro, his numbers aren't too bad.

During his debut campaign in red and white, the £140k-per-week earner scored eight times and registered ten assists. Of course, the fee dictated that he should have been setting the world alight, but they were impressive statistics for someone who had just moved from Ligue 1.

However, the emergence of Bukayo Saka on Arsenal's right-hand side, particularly under Mikel Arteta, meant game time and his numbers deteriorated. Pepe's second campaign saw him score 16 times across all competitions before in his third for the club, the 27-year-old only found the net on three occasions.

Ultimately, the Ivory Coast international suffered from a severe bout of inconsistency, never truly able to dictate and influence games in the way he wanted.

Arteta rarely afforded him an opportunity and his numbers back in Ligue 1 this term are nothing to rave about; he has just six goals.

That will likely ensure Nice don't sign him permanently, while it also ensures Arsenal are unlikely to want him anywhere near the first team in 2023/24.

As such, it feels natural to finally cut ties with their often ridiculed flop this summer, however finding someone to take on his sizable wages will be a challenge.

Either way, the attacker should never be seen in an Arsenal shirt again. That is a sad end for someone who arrived to much fanfare.