Nicolas Pepe: Saint Nic Is Back

[Atlas]

Don’t see him ripping many tricks and flicks to beat opponents these days. He reminded me of Asprilla when he first signed trying to use skills to beat everyone on the pitch. He’s evolved and for the better I think he just needs more consistency with the things he does.

 

[A_G]

 

[GeorgiaGunner]

Bare with me here, but Pepe here kind of reminds me of Bruno Fernandes at Yanited.

Very rarely you see Fernandes have a good 90 minutes for Yanited. He'll often frustrate then pop up with a moment of magic. That's sort of like Pepe here, he'll have spells in games where he seems ineffective, then out of nowhere comes a goal contribution. The difference is Yanited have setup their midfield to account for Fernandes' flaws, whilst we are still using Pepe a bit too much in our approach play.

The other difference is that Fernandes is far superior player, and has been arguably the best player in the league since he joined.

 

[GeorgiaGunner]

If some compare him with Sanchez I can understand in so far as that they were both difference makers in the final third.

But the gap in quality is significant. Sanchez during his arsenal pomp was close to the best player in the league at the time. £70m wouldn't buy you that quality of player. Even in a covid market.

He was definitely the best player in the league 16/17. All things considered one of the finest in our shirt.

70mm should have gone a lot further in ‘19/‘20. De Jong, De Ligt, Rodri, Lukaku, and Fernandes were all in the price range. Ultimately the issue with Pepe is that the only thing that’s “70mm player” about him is the cheque. Sucks, but is what it is.

 

[Big Poppa]

Wish he was more physical. That’s what separates him from the very best. Mané often miscontrols balls but he is able and willing to use his body to roll defenders. Pepe does that and he’s a 30 goal a season player. There’s something there but it hasn’t fully clicked.

 

[Maybe]

Missed the game so thought it would be best if I absorb some of the AM wisdom!

If I understand things correctly, he was our best and our worst player, the ball was bouncing off him but he is the only player who managed to do anything in our attack, he should be dropped but he is also the only reason why we are not bottom of the table anymore with 1 point.

I've missed this place

 

[Trilly]

He was angry from the moment he controlled the ball but then seemed to not mind the shot?! Wtf?

 

[A_G]

He was angry from the moment he controlled the ball but then seemed to not mind the shot?! Wtf?

His mind had switched to the player he wanted to shout at next.

 

[Trilly]

Wish he was more physical. That’s what separates him from the very best. Mané often miscontrols balls but he is able and willing to use his body to roll defenders. Pepe does that and he’s a 30 goal a season player. There’s something there but it hasn’t fully clicked.

I was going to post this in the Arteta thread but I think it works as a reply to this. I was doing some research for my fpl team and saw this table



The main reason Pepe (and Auba) aren’t 30 goal a season players is because of Arsenal/Arteta. The player is definitely partially responsible for getting their shots but Salah and Mane had 126 and 94 shots while Auba and Pepe had 57 and and 48. Pepe actually had a better conversion rate than Salah last season and from watching him I doubt anyone would call that a fluke.

I’ve always believed that Auba and Pepe can keep track with the best forwards in the league but we can’t actually expect that to happen until major team/tactical changes occur.

 

[Trilly]

His mind had switched to the player he wanted to shout at next.

I’ve read the thread and people seem to be complaining about how he didn’t control it in stride a la Mahrez.

Feel like that’s a bit harsh and he still got a shot off but maybe I’m just biased.

 

[Maybe]

He was angry from the moment he controlled the ball but then seemed to not mind the shot?! Wtf?

He was angry because it wasn't a first touch cross to nobody with his right foot, that's why he loves Tierney and hates Pepe

 

[Trilly]

He was angry because it wasn't a first touch cross to nobody with his right foot, that's why he loves Tierney and hates Pepe

Tbf it seems like Mikel realised there was nobody in the box and then calmed down quickly. Who knows what’s going on in his head though.

 

[MikelHadADream]

Really frustrating player, but has a wand of a left foot. He needs to just get the ball, make a bit of space and get a shot or cross away. It makes him a constant threat, as we've seen in the last few league games going back to the end of last season.

 

[GunnerShy]

Every miscontrol or small error is magnified when you fashion One or two chances a game.

We just need a higher volume of chances going through our two best finishers, Auba and Pepe.

With our best XI, that will happen

 

[TakeChillPill]

I prefer gervinho!

 

[The_Playmaker]

Probably the first game where he had more touches than our CB. Much better when he got closer to the box in the second half.

Hopefully Tomiyasu allows him to move in a bit more seeing as he can actually run unlike Chambers.

We should have a 2 2 2 2 running down the centre of the pitch, with full backs pushing on and tucking in at the right moment.


------Auba----Pepe
------Saka-----ESR/Ødegaard
------Partey---Lokonga
------Gabriel---White

 

[celestis]

He was angry from the moment he controlled the ball but then seemed to not mind the shot?! Wtf?

Honestly that vid makes no sense , think it’s not in comtext , Pepe moves the ball faster than unicorn boy in those situations.

 

[Barry]

Can't believe the amount of hate Pepe gets to be honest. He's a bit frustrating sometimes but he has that ability to beat a man and run with pace - his dribbling is either terrible, or incredible - usually in the same match. And he's the best striker after Auba in our team. He adds a bit of chaos and unpredictability to our attack that none of our other forwards have.

Hope he kicks on from the Norwich match and manages to impose himself against better teams as well.

 

[TakeChillPill]

Can't believe the amount of hate Pepe gets to be honest. He's a bit frustrating sometimes but he has that ability to beat a man and run with pace - his dribbling is either terrible, or incredible - usually in the same match. And he's the best striker after Auba in our team. He adds a bit of chaos and unpredictability to our attack that none of our other forwards have.

Hope he kicks on from the Norwich match and manages to impose himself against better teams as well.

He's been trying to kick on since 2018...it's like trying to start an old motorbike.

 

[Riou]

Can't believe the amount of hate Pepe gets to be honest

I can.

The tweets in the ESR thread (and especially the comments of those tweets) have shown we have a very weird fanbase...always trying to have a go at someone at the club.