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Nicolas Pepe wants to leave Arsenal during the summer transfer window and has reportedly asked his agent to begin negotiations with other clubs.
THE LOWDOWN: SECOND FIDDLE
Pepe became the Gunners’ record signing in 2019 when he joined from Lille for £72m, but he has struggled to cement his place in the first XI since then.
The Ivory Coast international has started just five Premier League games this season and has contributed just one goal and one assist during his 19 domestic outings.
The 26-year-old has been playing second fiddle to the likes of Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith-Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli this term and reportedly doesn’t see a future at the club.
THE LATEST: NEW AGENT
According to Football.London, the forward has reportedly hired a new agent to help secure a move away from the Emirates Stadium this summer.
However, that could work in Arsenal’s favour as they are said to be ready to offload Pepe for just £25m following his underwhelming three-year stint at the club.
THE VERDICT: CASH IN
Much was expected of the Ivory Coast international when he arrived in North London, after enjoying a superb year at LOSC Lille during the 2018/19 campaign, where he notched an astonishing 22 goals and 11 assists in 38 appearances.
Many expected the £27m-rated forward to take the Premier League by storm when he arrived in 2019 but he has largely underwhelmed. He made over 40 appearances last season, managing an impressive 16 goals and five assists but could not gain any consistent run in the team.
This current season, his struggles to get into Arteta’s thinking has largely continued. The £100k-per-week Ivorian has played 19 games, just the 683 minutes in the Barclays Premier League, notching one goal and one assist. In all competitions, he’s managed just three goals and five assists.
There’s no doubting Pepe’s extraordinary talents, his sheer speed, acceleration, trickery and the ability to beat markers with real ease, it is why Arsenal shelled out a club-record fee of £72m acquire his services.
Once hailed as a “quality player in the making” by Jose Mourinho, it is certainly plausible to argue that Arsenal captured the right player capable of real brilliance, at the wrong time.
Former QPR boss Neil Warnock called the Pepe to Arsenal move a “mistake” and stated that the Gunners should have purchased Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha instead.
The 26-year-old winger has struggled to break through into the team’s starting XI given the rapid emergence and fine form of teammates Saka, Martinelli, Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard, which has pushed him down Arteta‘s pecking order.
In a possession-based system that allows the likes of Saka, Martinelli and Smith-Rowe who have emerged in the first team over the past few years, the chance to thrive, the qualities of Pepe just hasn’t adjusted to such a patient and measured style.
Ultimately, Pepe’s move to the Emirates has indeed been an unfortunate mistake, and maybe it is time Arsenal cash in on the player that former manager Unai Emery, the man to sign him, once believed was a “top-class winger”.
