Nicolas Pepe: The Nutmeg Express!

Facing the press in Norway, Arteta said: “We’ve all had disappointing reactions in our playing careers and obviously we were frustrated because when you play against a team like Leeds for a long time with 10 men, it makes a huge difference. Even more with the way they play.

“He [Pepe] had a really good reaction, the way he apologised, the way he understood his responsibility and hopefully tomorrow we can see the player that we want to see, and have a good reaction to help his team.”

Asked if the 25-year-old had apologised privately, he added: “Absolutely right, he did it. He did it personally and he did it publicly. That’s done. Let’s move on. We all make mistakes, we all make decisions when we are in the middle of the heat. It’s about the reaction, what we learn from it individually and as a team, and moving on. That’s it, we need to focus on the next game.”

When it was put to Arteta that some people believe Pepe’s Arsenal career is hanging by a thread, the boss was pretty dismissive.

“No, it’s absolutely not [the end of his Arsenal career after the red card]. It’s not about that and I don’t like that type of statement. I will give Nico my full support all the time

 

You said there was several arsenal mania posters who made racist posts, I asked for some examples, can you show me them or not?

 

Who knows, maybe this might even be the making of Pepe? Hopefully he's eager to redeem himself.

 

That is grim reading but change it to starts...and it's still grim reading tbh.

The point I'm getting at is that there aren't many guys around who can slot into a team and get their numbers regardless. I challenge anyone to find a successful attacking signing who hasn't had the environment to thrive but still did anyway.

Salah was scouted specifically for his attributes, Bruno was given the keys to United and we all know that Chelsea had no problem scoring goals before they signed Werner, Ziyech and Havertz.

Pepe hasn't come into a free-flowing attack and made us worse, he hasn't caused a decrease in any of our attacking stats and actually ranks highly in the squad for most of our advanced attacking stats. That suggests that if we get our attack working those advanced stats should translate into the bread and butter goals + assists we expect

As a somewhat starter he ended up with around 20 g/a in our worst attacking season in years and his advanced stats back up that it wasn't a fluke. That's why people have faith in him and also this thread will be the next great A-M debate until our attack is sorted and people can definitively decide on whether he's a poor player or not.

As for the signing, it's very close to being a flop. We should have never invested so much in a player that functions in a flowing attack when what we need are players to create that flowing attack. Auba with an army of creative players around him would probably have been enough. Pepe is the guy you add to an Auba to go to the next level imo.

 

You neek fam. Bet you're one of those weirdos who has an Ulquiorra poster rather than just liking Ichigo like a normal human.

 

I'm getting annoyed with all this "prove himself" "get confidence" bullcrap talk.

Playing a lefty on the right to have him hug the touchline is the most absurd thing ever(especially high up the pitch).

What does a player with that skillset need? Space to run into.
Where is the worst position to be? On the touchline. What the **** is he supposed to do there? Like seriously? Defender blocks the inside and you are screwed.

He's playing a role that's not suited to his skillset at all.

 

They always coach defenders to force attackers wide and use the touchline as an extra defender and we’re here encouraging that for both our wingers.

 

Nah man I can't deal with those dark goths I liked Aizen though.

 

What are you on about? I claimed no such thing. Read my original post. I read racist abuse on social media. Twitter. Not A-M. So your chivalrous desire to defend A-M posters against what you seem to perceive as my spurious claims seems to be an overreaction.

I’ve read people on here claiming statements against racism, sexism, and heterosexism are overblown for years. And it’s unfortunate. Overt racism on A-M though, I don’t recall. I hope you’re satisfied by this, my final response on this matter.

 

Not surprised.

Bleach is top tier tbh, might rewatch it at some point.

 

Bleach was lit I loved the aesthetic even though the end was stupid still one of my favourites, but you're a nerd still.

 

I’m sure there are enough stats that will indicate he had a decent season last year. But let’s forget about stats for a second and actually watch him play. He has no right foot, he’s erratic in possession, he can’t pass, he’s not dangerous, he’s not creative and he trips over the ball. If this guy played for anyone else, no one would rate him.

I agree our attack is dysfunctional, but you don’t need a fully functional attack to see that Pepe is average. Likewise we didn’t need a fully functional midfield to see that Partey isn’t.

 

I have a feeling we could see the real Pepe tonight. This is the perfect time for him to show us what he can do and why he should be starting every PL game. As Arteta says, its in Pepe's hands!

 

True. I think Arteta is doing everything in his power to get Pepe to break out of his shell. But its only so much a manager can do. Its now up to the player!

 

Thread title is getting changed a little too frequently, though the headbutt one was funny and I am over the moon that "sauce" is no longer in it!

 

His stats aren't even bad. 5 G/A in 520 minutes this season.
18 G/A in 2717 minutes last season.

 

I never used sauce. It kept being added my a mod I guess. I couldn't keep the headbutt one for too long. I felt the need to be positive!

 

He’s still on course, isn’t he? It’s all about the numbers, this game.