I shared a room with ex-Arsenal man Nicolas Pepe - it was hell and I demanded to be moved

Former Arsenal flop Nicolas Pepe became known as 'the roommate from hell' after Wilfried Zaha brought attention to his nightmarishly loud snoring.

The pair bunked together while on international duty with the Ivory Coast, but Zaha was forced to ask for a room change because Pepe was keeping him up at night. The former Crystal Palace forward said it was so bad it sounded like a motorbike.

Zaha escaped to become Salomon Kalou's roommate, and the ex-Chelsea ace was also all too familiar with Pepe's horrendous habit. "Oh, my days. Nicolas Pepe. I asked to leave the room," Zaha, 31, told the On The Judy Podcast back in 2021.

"I went and asked to leave the room because he sounded like a motorbike. It was mad, it was crazy. I was like, 'No'.

"These are the first times as well when I went [with Ivory Coast]. They let me move and share rooms with Salomon Kalou. And he was like 'Bro, I know. I moved myself.'"

Pepe, 29, joined Arsenal from Lille for £72million in 2019 but barely ever looked like living up to his mammoth price tag.

During the 2021/22 season, he was pushed to the peripheries of the squad after falling out of favour with manager Mikel Arteta, and he left to join Nice on loan the following summer.

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He left the Gunners on a free transfer in 2023, with 27 goals in 112 games under his belt, and joined Turkish outfit Trabzonspor. Last season, he managed six goals in 23 matches in all competitions.

Pepe was born and raised in France, but both of his parents are native Ivorians. He made his debut for the Ivory Coast in 2016 aged 21 and has since racked up 45 caps for his country, scoring 10 goals.

Zaha, meanwhile, chose to represent the Ivory Coast in 2017 after being repeatedly snubbed by England. The former Manchester United star, who, like Pepe, is out in Turkey having signed for Galatasaray last year, was born in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan but moved to England aged four.

He spent his teenage years representing the Three Lions at youth level and made two non-competitive appearances for England's senior team between 2012 and 2013. But after being left out in the cold for the next three years he decided to switch allegiances. He's since played 33 times for the Ivory Coast, scoring five goals.

Zaha and Pepe were nearly club-mates as well as international team-mates. Arsenal were long-term admirers of the Crystal Palace academy graduate and made various attempts to sign him, but were ultimately put off by the Eagles' asking price.