Nicolas Pepe: 2019/20 Performances

[Underhill]

Salah in his first season at Liverpool scored 31 non pk goals and 10 assists in the same position of Pepe. Right that Liverpool was better than Arsenal, ended in the 4º, but Salah wasn't a 80 million buy either.
In the PL a decent output for a 80 million wide fw player would be 10-15 npk goals and 10 assists imo;

Salah is a top5 in the world player. We can't expect that out of Pepe.

 

[mpower2540]

If this guy knuckles down and really pushes himself he could be a huge player for us. The talent is there no doubt about it.

My only issue is that he comes across as quite laid back and may not strive to be great. Excited to see how he develops here

 

[Macho]

Salah is a top5 in the world player. We can't expect that out of Pepe.

Lol strangely, that’s what people expect for a 70m player paid for in instalments. Think people need to get a grip tbh. Not his fault Arsenal were the only team in for him and paid that much.

 

[kofigunner]

More often than not, when Pepe has gotten a lot of playing time, he’s produced. Obviously he’s had to convince Arteta that he’s going to track back and do all the other things required of him in training and in the game, but when he’s played he’s sparked goals. Salah was already used to the hard work required in the prem, and was better prepared the second time around based on what happened with Mourinho. This is Pepe’s first go, and Arteta is certainly drilling the work ethic into him.

 

[Trilly]

It's fair to expect 25 g+a from a 80m player

Depends on the role he plays. If we bought Sterling for 100M tomorrow and played him LB would you still want 30 goals + assists from him?

Pepe hugs the right-side touchline so that we can attack from the left. Arteta has confirmed it, the stats confirm it and even the players have. Expecting 25 g+a for what is essentially a playmaking role is harsh.

In his current role you would want Bernado Silva type numbers. He got 19 g+a last season and was viewed as one of their best players.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

It's fair to expect 25 g+a from a 80m player, but that's too unrealistic, don't think Pepe will ever reach this level tbh, 12-15 would be a good return from him.

It is fair to be sure.

The thing is, looking past his prize tag, is that we signed him to be our main man, our star player. People have been talking about now he will become next Henry or that now he is gonna become a end product machine!

Comparing him to other players in other teams is also no no. For all the suffering its now time for us to get a star player everyone envy us about. A player that is better than Mane and B. Silva. Can Pepe be that guy? I've never been sure about that but as I'm rarely wrong about football stuff I'm always happy to be wrong when it benefits Arsenal!

 

[FinnGooner]

Lol strangely, that’s what people expect for a 70m player paid for in instalments. Think people need to get a grip tbh. Not his fault Arsenal were the only team in for him and paid that much.

Well, anybody who automatically expects a £70m player to be world top 5 is a complete *****. There are currently 20 active players who have cost £70m or more. You don’t have to be a math genius to figure out that even in the very unlikely case that the world top 5 consists of only players who have cost 70m or more, 75% of that group will fail to reach the top 5.

Way too many people here with severe difficulties to understand concepts like supply, demand, inflation and market efficiency. Figures just come flying out of peoples asses ”if you cost x you have to score y”. Pepe cost €80m in 2019! He was only the 6th most expensive signing that summer! 14 of all time 50 most expensive transfer were from last summer. 26 of the 50 most expensive transfers of all time are from 2018 and 2019. And still people here think that ”80 million should guarantee ballon d’or nominee”. On top of inflation, football markets don’t have the same supply and demand for every position every single transfer window so evaluating the ”fairness” of a particular price in one window based on what the same price got you in another window is pretty pointless if you don’t bother looking at what types of players were available in those respective windows and more over, which teams were in for which positions in those windows.

And finally, Mohamed Salah transfer to Liverpool was an exceptional one and it should not determine the expected value of transfers in general.

 

[juice man]

Quietly having a good debut season. If you exclude November, where the entire team seemed to down tools, he's actually been very good.
Needs to work to affect games a little more consistently, as we've seen long stretches during matches where he contributes very little. He's got the ability to be a big piece of the puzzle for us.

 

[pacstud]

Just keeps improving.

Continues to show the "experts" why they're mere AM posters

 

[Macho]

It is fair to be sure.

The thing is, looking past his prize tag, is that we signed him to be our main man, our star player

Nice try, but we’ve had 3 managers this season who have said in one way or another said that he’s one for the future/is going to spend this season adapting.

The fans/media have dreamed up these expectations nobody else. Well, prob Pepe himself as well as he was trying too hard to score and bust out skills in his first games and seems to have relaxed a bit now.

A lot of the guys on this forum are the type to spend all sorts at a restaurant on a date and expect the most init (just joking btw)

 

[Hleb's Sirush]

Salah in his first season at Liverpool scored 31 non pk goals and 10 assists in the same position of Pepe. Right that Liverpool was better than Arsenal, ended in the 4º, but Salah wasn't a 80 million buy either.
In the PL a decent output for a 80 million wide fw player would be 10-15 npk goals and 10 assists imo;

Is that the benchmark you really want to adopt to gauge if Pepe has been a success?

That 32 goals a season Salah had was probably an anomaly even for him, it literally hadn't been done before or after (it is a PL record in a 38 game season).

 

[Taylor Gang Gunners]

Pepe has bags of ability. His performance against Newcastle was full of promise. I love how decisive he was, how he affected the game. Every time he had the ball at his feet he looked a genuine threat- that’s all you can ask of your wide players.

Pepe will achieve fantastic numbers here. I’ve no doubt about it. The more he acclimatises to the league, the better he’ll become. He’s genuinely one of the most unpredictable dribblers in Europe. He’s capable of highlight real moments.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

A good reminder that son who is at the moment one of most inform wingers in PL he finished the first season with Sp**s with only 8 goals 5 Assists in all competitions. Mane too guy couldn't start at Southampton until first few months.

 

[Tomb Bombadil]

His biggest problem was that he was really bad defensivly. He looked lazy and he couldn't defend. He improved a lot in this area.

You saw his potential in the attaking area but also there he has still a lot to learn. So I'm still not convincend after one really good halftime but he goes into the right direction.

We should stop compare him with Salah and co and just give him more time.

 

[pigge]

His biggest problem was that he was really bad defensivly. He looked lazy and he couldn't defend. He improved a lot in this area.

You saw his potential in the attaking area but also there he has still a lot to learn. So I'm still not convincend after one really good halftime but he goes into the right direction.

We should stop compare him with Salah and co and just give him more time.

You thought his biggest problem when he arrives was his defensive ability? We sure had different expectations from Pepe. Guy couldn't attack for his first five months

 

[Riou]

...so happy to have him at the club, as I said we haven't had a gamechanger out wide since Sanchez, Pepe has the potential to be just that.

With the injuries we have atm, we have to play a certain way meaning Nicolas isn't as free to roam as he should be, but we have to play that way with the players we have right now.

Next season I hope Arteta constructs a team that Pepe can really get forward in, probably need a slight tweak in formation.

 

[Eaststander74]

He's got insane ability in the final third. That was always clear. Beats people for fun, sits them down, turns on a sixpence and a great shot on him. He can't not be productive in a settled side.

 

[Jae]

Guys a baller. Been saying it all along. Watching that video he's extremely unlucky at times, creates the chance but sometimes it just doesn't go in. Could easily have double his goal tally with better luck.

Also love how defenders **** themselves whenever he picks the ball up. There were times in that video where he was being marked by nearly 4 players.

 

[Rex Stone]

I think a goal and assist target is a bit arbitrary, I’ve been critical of him in recent weeks because for the fee he hasn’t been anywhere near the required standard.

He’s dug in though and was clearly motm on Sunday. Just want him to keep up a good level of performance between now and May.

 

[dka1]

Can someone please remind me how wide Sanchez would end up being for us? IIRC he'd start wide but cut in a lot, a bit like Auba. Taking a look back through his highlights, he really did seem to be in and around the box before receiving the ball for his goals.

It's already a bit of a flogged horse but Pepe being so far from goal during quite a lot of our plays is probably playing a factor in him not getting as many goals atleast