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✍️ OFFICIAL Nicolas Pepe (Out)

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lomekian

Essays are my thing
Well, that's why I put the goals scored by the team during those seasons. I agree that's a factor but I'm not sure a difference of 12 team goals per season is enough reason to justify that massive difference in production level.

The Auba comparison isn't really fair because there's also decline factors in there. Auba's first season under Arteta his production was quite good. It started falling off but there are more variables there than just Arteta.
What people never acknowledged about Theo was that despite being a very limited player, what he was good at, he did to a very very high level. His ability to run in the space between full back and centre-back, both pace and timing, and then finish from unpromising positions in that channel was as good as most at that time. Obviously the rest of his game was below average at this level. He had none of Pepe's outrageous skill, but he knew how he fit and played as best his could to that fit, always challenging that channel. Pepe is vastly superior in almost every way, but seriously lacks understanding of his role, combination play with his team-mates, and how to utilise his gifts most effectively. In a way Theo's limitations gave him a rare clarity, which made him, at his best, very hard to stop despite not being a great footballer.
 

lomekian

Essays are my thing
Pepe's biggest problem was a lack of gametime, because we're out of all competitions by January. When he played consistently he always produced decent numbers.
Not true- sadly. He had runs where this was the case, but also had runs where he was a liability.
 

Barry

Definitely Not An Old Poster
Very different players...the feeling I got from Gervinho was that he moved at a faster pace with the ball at his feet and eliminated defenders better on his day, but the stats don't really back that up, his dribbling statistics aren't better than Pépé's, nor are his statistics in any way, really.

Pépé is the superior player, especially when you consider he has far superior end product and key passes numbers than Gervinho did here, but yeah, definitely Pépé was always going to struggle in any combinative style of play, and Wenger's was certainly that.

Walcott was a unique player in that he had the personality to play a lot more off the ball, making runs always for others to find him and creating space with his movement and pace off the ball, a personality that Pépé and Gervinho just didn't have, which made him by far the best of the three, despite his unnatural style in possession and difficulties in combination play (which, at his best, he did a good job of keeping simple and keeping play moving without doing anything extravagant on the ball, something you can't say for Pépé and Gervinho).

In short, despite having the weakest technical skills of the three, Walcott was by far the best team player, and good at adapting his abilities to the needs of the team, and for that reason still managed to work in a combinative style despite lacking in combinative ability. And was far and away the best of the three any way you look at it.

Anyways, Pépé's numbers are scaleable, perhaps in Wenger's teams, given the 12 G difference, and factoring the drop off in ability between him and Walcott which will account somewhat in the 12 G difference on average, he would've scored and assisted every 120 minutes or so, or maybe even, taking into factor a weaker league during that period, he would've got to around once every 100-110 min. But there's just no way you can make any kind of reasonable argument that Pépé would go from the one every 173 he showed here under Arteta to the one every 85 that Walcott achieved during that period, you'd have to be rather mad to make that argument.
Pepe > Gervinho easily imo
 

samshere

Why so serieuse?
Not true- sadly. He had runs where this was the case, but also had runs where he was a liability.
You mean the kind of run Saka/Ødegaard had towards the end of the season? Difference is that Pepe was immediately dropped after such a run and never got a look in again.
 
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Macho

In search of Pure Profit 💸
Dusted 🔻

Country: England
I think we would (/ should) take 35mm for him if such an offer came in.

No chance I'm afraid. Maybe earlier or if Raul was still here.

I think loan until contract expire or final year is the only medicine for this honestly.
 

GeorgiaGunner

#FreeClaude
We will be lucky to get 15M
Yeah somewhat wishful thinking, but who knows. I think that both of i) Pepe is / was a bust and ii) he isn't being used properly here are true, so hopefully someone who can get better out of him lobs a bid based on perceived upside (though admittedly that # would be nowhere near what we paid).
 

Lady_Gooner

Posting While Meditating
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Country: England
The deal we get for him is going to be really bad but we just have to take it. The club just as recently as january have given players away for free so might as well carry on.
Absolutely no point him being here next season, coming on in the 80th minute & seeing arteta slap his thigh every time he does anything 😭
This has to be over this summer
 

MA08

Active Member
Hopefully Everton buys him after they sell Richarlison. He will be an excellent second striker next to a target man.
 

Vanpayslip

Active Member
Wenger had Gervinho who is a better version of Pepe...... you just need to look at Gervinho to see how Pepe would have performed under Wenger. Pepe is a midtable player and has blatant flaws in his football IQ that Wenger will never be able to fix.

Gervinho cost barely £10m. Wenger got his money back.

Pepe is Arsenal’s record signing.

Do you have any concept of context?
 

Maybe

You're wrong, no?
What did you guys expect after all? He was denied the opportunity to play for a whole year, and that was after the season of 2020 when he was constantly in and out regardless of performance. This issue now was expected for a very long time.
Arteta/Edu had a chance to play him and protect his value, they decided not to and play people who would leave, without any positive return in results for that decision and both were happy to lose the money (as it's not their money). If they are happy to lose the money and not getting on field results by dumping him, then why would I care if Pepe goes for free? In the end, it's what makes them a poor choice and tells us more about why Wenger was so great, these guys have no chance to get to his level
 

Maybe

You're wrong, no?
Hopefully Everton buys him after they sell Richarlison. He will be an excellent second striker next to a target man.
I think Pepe in this situation would be an amazing buy for many clubs, and for the money being mentioned, value for the money is great, just a question of how buying clubs feel about it after all that happened over the past 2 years. Shame most of the clubs in the UK have no "Moneyball" people in charge, would be cool to see someone taking the advantage of the situation
 

Big Poppa

Established Member
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Country: USA

Player:Saliba
What did you guys expect after all? He was denied the opportunity to play for a whole year, and that was after the season of 2020 when he was constantly in and out regardless of performance. This issue now was expected for a very long time.
Arteta/Edu had a chance to play him and protect his value, they decided not to and play people who would leave, without any positive return in results for that decision and both were happy to lose the money (as it's not their money). If they are happy to lose the money and not getting on field results by dumping him, then why would I care if Pepe goes for free? In the end, it's what makes them a poor choice and tells us more about why Wenger was so great, these guys have no chance to get to his level
Yeah giving Willian more game time than Pepe was unforgivable. The difference between Pepe’s good and bad moments may have been higher but so was both his ceiling and his long term value.

It’s clear though that if you aren’t where Arteta expects you to be on the pitch often enough, it’s curtains.
 

Riou

In The Winchester, Waiting For This To Blow Over

Country: Northern Ireland

Player:Gabriel
He's not as good as Pepe, but don't think Walcott was as bad a dribbler as being made out.

Some of the dribbles I have seen Theo do over the years for us, he was pretty decent.
 

TornadoTed

Established Member
I was thinking which remotely realistic teams Pepe would suit and I think Wolves would be a perfect fit for him. They are a counter attacking team who happily relinquish possession. The right forward slot is one where they have tried a few players but none of them have cemented their place.

Would they pay the wages though?
 

lomekian

Essays are my thing
You mean the kind of run Saka/Ødegaard had towards the end of the season? Difference is that Pepe was immediately dropped after such a run and never got a look in again.
Don't know where you've been, but Pepe was bad for long stretches of every season for us. Difference is at the very end of his first season he took a step forward and at the very end of 20-21 he was brilliant for about 5-6 weeks, whereas this season he didn't see much game time in the spring - but don't let the brief purple patches of brilliance make you forget how utterly awful he was in earlier parts of both those seasons. Coming up to Xmas 2020 he was so bad that it was starting to get into 'can you pick him?' territory.

Also crucial difference with Saka/Ødegaard is that even when off form, both tend to be reasonably secure in possession, capable to playing to tactical instructions and will try to do their jobs defensively. When Pepe is having a bad time of it, he is a possession black hole who wanders around aimlessly and doesn't track back. Which is the whole problem, because his best is fantastic. If he could have raised the floor of his performance levels, he would have seen a lot more game time, because we've all seen how good his ceiling is. But sometimes he looks like a super talented player who's been discovered in the jungle and has not played professionally before - so much skill, but decision making is a roulette wheel
 

Macho

In search of Pure Profit 💸
Dusted 🔻

Country: England
I was thinking which remotely realistic teams Pepe would suit and I think Wolves would be a perfect fit for him. They are a counter attacking team who happily relinquish possession. The right forward slot is one where they have tried a few players but none of them have cemented their place.

Would they pay the wages though?

He cited language barrier issues when describing his relationship with Arteta and when I watched the training vids from the end of last season, Laca was still speaking in French explaining stuff to him mid drills. Who's now gone.

I think he needs to leave the league personally, if he hasn't learned the language now he's not learning it up north or Wolves.
 

lomekian

Essays are my thing
What did you guys expect after all? He was denied the opportunity to play for a whole year, and that was after the season of 2020 when he was constantly in and out regardless of performance. This issue now was expected for a very long time.
Arteta/Edu had a chance to play him and protect his value, they decided not to and play people who would leave, without any positive return in results for that decision and both were happy to lose the money (as it's not their money). If they are happy to lose the money and not getting on field results by dumping him, then why would I care if Pepe goes for free? In the end, it's what makes them a poor choice and tells us more about why Wenger was so great, these guys have no chance to get to his level
Wenger also left several trophies on the table by consistently refusing to add the last missing pieces to the great squads he built, and towards the end by persevering with idiots.

In 20-21 he was dropped because when he came in after Willian moved centrally, and for a decent stretch of games, he was awful every time he played bar the EL. By the time he found some any hint of form, Saka had usurped him and ESR had changed the team. He was only really effective for 4-5 games late on in the season and 2-3 early 2021. But he was bad as much as he was good.

This year, he should have seen more game time really, but again bar the late sub appearance vs Wolves, did he do anything else positive in any of the time he got this year.

Ultimately, while its difficult when you are in and out of the team and don't have a rhythm, if you keep playing poorly when you do get limited chances, there's not much incentive to give you more. A poor fit for the club, this manager and frankly the every week intensity of the Premier League
 
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