In August 2019, Nicolas Pepe left Lille to join Arsenal for a transfer fee of £72m, thereby becoming the most expensive contract in The Gunners history at that time . Of course, the expectations placed on the French player of Ivory Coast origin were great, but then all expectations soon died down to disappointment.
Arsenal’s boldness to bring Nicolas Pepe to the Emirates is not without reason, because they were captivated by the explosive performances of the striker born in 1995 in the Lille shirt. Pepe became an obsession with every defense in Ligue 1, scoring 35 goals in two seasons at the highest level of French football.
But then, the best was left behind by Nicolas Pepe at Les Dogues. In the Arsenal shirt , after 3 seasons (2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22), this player did not meet expectations. He only had a few flashing moments, like at the end of the 2019/20 season, helping The Gunners win the FA Cup, or a few so-called “watchable” matches in the 2020/21 season. The peak of the disappointment was in the 2021/22 season, when he scored just 3 goals in all competitions (1 goal in the Premier League).
During his time with Lille, Pepe’s strength was his breakthrough speed, combined with the ability to slick the ball with cold sharp shots. He also tried to replicate those skills at Arsenal, but efficiency suddenly became a luxury.
In addition, in the role of a winger, the 28-year-old does not strictly follow the rules of the game and does not meet the tasks assigned by coach Mikel Arteta. It should be known that the Spaniard often requires his students to press high, move with constant intensity and even strikers must have a sense of defense. Meanwhile, Nicolas is very passive and lazy.
This season, Nicolas Pepe was returned to Ligue 1 to play for Nice on loan, the tournament in which he once stormed. In a tumultuous campaign, the Allianz Riviera team had to change their generals midway, when Lucien Favre left the training cabin and made way for Didier Digard. Pepe is often placed on the edge of the attack line in the 4-3-3 system, or forms one of the three attacks that support the back of the striker in the 4-2-3-1 frame.
Arteta hopes that the student will find his form and revive strongly. In fact, the 28-year-old striker also worked hard, but overall, his performances were not too impressive, contributing only 6 goals in 19 matches (17 starts), with a total of 1,529 minutes. It should also be added that Pepe’s playing time was seriously affected by a knee injury.
In addition, in every 90 minutes, the French Ivory Coast player made 2.6 shots, touched the ball 54.2 times, launched 27.9 passes (83 % accuracy rate), generated 1.5 key passes, had 1.8 dribbles, 1.3 tackles, 0.9 recoveries, 4.9 duels and 0.4 air wins.
Nice has no intention of buying Nicolas Pepe outright after the 2022/23 season ends, which means the striker has to return to the Emirates. If there is no big change, it will be difficult for the player born in 1995 to compete for the starting spot with Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard or Bukayo Saka.
Recently, the media reported that an Arab club intends to recruit Nicolas Pepe . And perhaps, Arsenal has no reason to earnestly hold on to this bomb, if the negotiations go well.
