Arsenal ahead Nicolas Pepe has retreated from the Ivory Coast squad to perform on his fitness center in London.
It is known the 24-year-old does not have an injury and will return into London Colney to prepare for its Premier League fixtures.
Pepe did spend a brief time along with his national squad but both Arsenal and the Ivorian federation agreed it was best that he did not feature in the friendlies from Benin and Tunisia.
The 24-year-old joined Arsenal out of Lille to get a club-record #72m commission in August but had been late to join the squad after his exploits at the African Cup of Nations in the summertime, at which the quarter-finals were reached by Ivory Coast.
Pepe made his Premier League debut in the chair on the opening day of the year with his first start coming from the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield until his first taste of their north London derby ended in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham.
He’s yet to start his own Premier League grading account, but will hope to rectify this at Arsenal game away at Watford on September 15, live on Sky Sports Premier League.
Read more: f1radical.com