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Nicolas Pepe: The Nutmeg Express!

What would you do with Pepe?

  • Keep him for the foreseeable future

  • Give him one more season to prove himself

  • Sell if you can get a significant fee, keep otherwise

  • Sell at any price


Results are only viewable after voting.
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Blood on the Tracks

AG's best friend, role model and mentor.
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One of the criticisms of Pepe that I don't really get is that he gives the ball away a lot.

I mean yeah, It can be frustrating at times but it's just the nature of the type of player he is. He's not a percentages player. Even when he's playing great he's going to give the ball away more than most.
 

Iceman10

Established Member
One of the criticisms of Pepe that I don't really get is that he gives the ball away a lot.

I mean yeah, It can be frustrating at times but it's just the nature of the type of player he is. He's not a percentages player. Even when he's playing great he's going to give the ball away more than most.

Still think he has a lot of development potential to reduce how much he gives away the ball, just needs a run of games, but yeah, over focus on a few slack passes here and there is a bit like Mourinho managing Salah. He should be helped also with an addition to our CM’s this summer, and improvements among our full backs.
 

Blood on the Tracks

AG's best friend, role model and mentor.
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Country: England

Player:Rice
Still think he has a lot of development potential to reduce how much he gives away the ball, just needs a run of games, but yeah, over focus on a few slack passes here and there is a bit like Mourinho managing Salah. He should be helped also with an addition to our CM’s this summer, and improvements among our full backs.

I'm sure he can work on that aspect of his game a bit more, it doesn't overly concern me though.

What would worry me is if he goes back into his shell again and tries to play the percentages game, it's not what he's there for.

He's the sort of player that has to be brave and take risks with the ball to be effective in my opinion.

I think he's a bit unfortunate in that when he's not playing great or producing a lot of end product he stands out as having a bad game more than most, just due to his playing style.
 

Geofranco

Would let Saka date his daughter

Player:Saka
He reminds me of Hleb, who was frustrating as hell but in a different way. Yesterdays game was a good example of what Pepe is, very lively and productive, but then he just gives the ball away for free on a couple of occasions, which wasn't a big deal but I was just thinking like wtf is he doing :lol:

Maybe like this generations Walcott. Not the same type of player, but both are very productive with end product, but can be very frustrating to watch play.

Walcott cause he never wanted to get on the ball cause he lacked technique with his dribbling and passing. With Pepe, he gets on the ball, but can be so sloppy.

It's like he struggles to do the basics, but can pull off the spectacular. I had the same issues with Ramsey when he was here.

Never really rated him too high cause his positioning was all over the place, he would struggle to control the football, to pass and to dribble, but would score some spectacular goals.
 

jato

Active Member
It's like he struggles to do the basics, but can pull off the spectacular. I had the same issues with Ramsey when he was here.

Never really rated him too high cause his positioning was all over the place, he would struggle to control the football, to pass and to dribble, but would score some spectacular goals.

That's because there were one or two seasons where Ramsey was doing dumb **** like doing backheels to nobody on the right hand side. There was nothing spectacular about that just stupid showboating.

Once Ramsey made his game simpler and cut that stuff out, he was way more effective.

Pepe is like Sanchez IMO in that he tries to make things happen but doesn't always pull it off and is more direct than Ramsey was. The problem with Pepe is sometimes he makes things more overcomplicated than they should be sometimes e.g. instead of sending the ball into the box when there are runners or a open man, he will continue to try and beat the defender which allows defenders time to get back in numbers.
 

Dutch D

Well-Known Member & FPL Champion 19/20
I'm sure he can work on that aspect of his game a bit more, it doesn't overly concern me though.

What would worry me is if he goes back into his shell again and tries to play the percentages game, it's not what he's there for.

He's the sort of player that has to be brave and take risks with the ball to be effective in my opinion.

I think he's a bit unfortunate in that when he's not playing great or producing a lot of end product he stands out as having a bad game more than most, just due to his playing style.
This is true to a certain extent. Lots of people (and our coach) are too risk averse. A winger is there to force a dangerous situation by taking on a defender or making a dangerous run. It makes sense that they have a higher turnover rate and get dispossessed more because it's a high risk action. (That's becoming less and less prominent as the game becomes more and more tactical, and boring might I add.)

I do worry Pepe doesn't always recognize the right moment to take risk. Often I am frustrated that he cuts back when I think he should be driving at the defense and when he has to keep it simple he loses the ball sloppily and creates a dangerous turnover.

I don't want him to play what you a 'percentage game', but he should work on finding the right moment.
 

Blood on the Tracks

AG's best friend, role model and mentor.
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This is true to a certain extent. Lots of people (and our coach) are too risk averse. A winger is there to force a dangerous situation by taking on a defender or making a dangerous run. It makes sense that they have a higher turnover rate and get dispossessed more because it's a high risk action. (That's becoming less and less prominent as the game becomes more and more tactical, and boring might I add.)

I do worry Pepe doesn't always recognize the right moment to take risk. Often I am frustrated that he cuts back when I think he should be driving at the defense and when he has to keep it simple he loses the ball sloppily and creates a dangerous turnover.

I don't want him to play what you a 'percentage game', but he should work on finding the right moment.

I think Pepe's one of those that needs working on by a manager to round his game out a bit, but at the same time he shouldn't be over coached or have the individuality drained out of him.

On the ball I like to see him have freedom because that's when he does his best stuff. Pepe's a player that just 'Does things.' Sometimes he'll dribble past 3 players and set up a goal, other times he'll trip up over his own feet and let the ball run out of play or he'll run down a blind alley and be disposed. You just have to accept it.

To me he's never going to be a Saka, who 9 times out of 10 makes the correct decision.
I'm not knocking Pepe, I think he has a decent role to play at Arsenal but he's got a low footballing IQ and I don't really believe that can be coached into a player, and even if it could it would take away what he's really good at.

I can see why some Arsenal fans really like him and will defend him to the hilt though, he's an exciting player to watch and he definitely can produce end product. He's different to any of our other wide men.

To me he's not a winger, he's a wide forward. You want him in and around the opposition box. He's all end product. Having him picking up the ball from slow transition play when the oppositions defence is set just exposes what he's not great at. He's never going to be a keep ball champ, and nor should he.
 

Red London

Anti-Simp Culture
Trusted ⭐
One of the criticisms of Pepe that I don't really get is that he gives the ball away a lot.

I mean yeah, It can be frustrating at times but it's just the nature of the type of player he is. He's not a percentages player. Even when he's playing great he's going to give the ball away more than most.
I think his issue is he needs to improve on that. His bottom line is too low. I would say he has the ability to have an extremely good top line (ie doing the difficult things like finishing, delivery, ball striking, key dribbles) but he fails to control the ball for no reason sometimes. That’s Pepe’s issue, he does the simple things poorly at times. It makes it even more bewildering why people call him Walcott or Gervinho. Walcott had pace and some finishing while Gervinho had pace an dribbling. They both lacked in overall ball striking ability and technical ability (like most wingers who aren’t top class). Pepe has that but he lets himself down with fundamentals which is strange stuff. Needs coaching and game time.

And btw I do get that he’s a high risk player and attempts the low % stuff, but there’s some things he needs to work on that he should be doing despite being this kind of player. I wish he could be played with more freedom like we saw vs Sheffield, with a roaming winger and supportive RB. He hasn’t had enough of that here and has usually faced 2-3 players in stale attacks.
 

Blood on the Tracks

AG's best friend, role model and mentor.
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I think his issue is he needs to improve on that. His bottom line is too low. I would say he has the ability to have an extremely good top line (ie doing the difficult things like finishing, delivery, ball striking, key dribbles) but he fails to control the ball for no reason sometimes. That’s Pepe’s issue, he does the simple things poorly at times. It makes it even more bewildering why people call him Walcott or Gervinho. Walcott had pace and some finishing while Gervinho had pace an dribbling. They both lacked in overall ball striking ability and technical ability (like most wingers who aren’t top class). Pepe has that but he lets himself down with fundamentals which is strange stuff. Needs coaching and game time.

And btw I do get that he’s a high risk player and attempts the low % stuff, but there’s some things he needs to work on that he should be doing despite being this kind of player. I wish he could be played with more freedom like we saw vs Sheffield, with a roaming winger and supportive RB. He hasn’t had enough of that here and has usually faced 2-3 players in stale attacks.

I think the core issue is, and this isn't a knock on Pepe, because it isn't his fault, but we've spent £72m on him and a player bought for that type of fee shouldn't have such obvious basic / technical weaknesses. That's on the club not doing due diligence before signing him though. I believe Bayern were looking at him and came to the conclusion he wasn't the right player for the fee being bandied about at the time.

I do see some similarities with Gervinho, not in playing style but in the almost frenetic energy they have when they pick the ball up. It's like even they aren't always sure what they're going to do with the ball. They might beat 3-4 men or they might just trip over the ball. It's exciting to wonder what they're going to do with the ball as a fan I admit.

I consider both Gervinho and Pepe Youtube highlight reel players. If you knew nothing about them as players you'd think they were world class based on their highlights because they're both capable of doing amazing stuff.

The problem is those clips don't show the other times when they make elementary mistakes or their techniques let them down and those situations naturally occur much more frequently than the great goals etc.

I do agree with you that his bottom line needs a bit of work though. Every player makes basic mistakes occasionally but it does seem to happen a bit too frequently with Pepe. It does concerns me though, If a player is struggling with some pretty basic technical stuff at 25, is he ever going to get it?

There are quite a few things I like about him though. It's obviously not natural to him but he's really improved his work rate and tracking back this season.

For a player that's not massive height wise, I'm not sure I've ever seen him lose a header either. He's excellent in that department.
 

Trilly

Hates A-M, Saka, Arteta and You
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I think the core issue is, and this isn't a knock on Pepe, because it isn't his fault, but we've spent £72m on him and a player bought for that type of fee shouldn't have such obvious basic / technical weaknesses. That's on the club not doing due diligence before signing him though. I believe Bayern were looking at him and came to the conclusion he wasn't the right player for the fee being bandied about at the time.

I do see some similarities with Gervinho, not in playing style but in the almost frenetic energy they have when they pick the ball up. It's like even they aren't always sure what they're going to do with the ball. They might beat 3-4 men or they might just trip over the ball. It's exciting to wonder what they're going to do with the ball as a fan I admit.

I consider both Gervinho and Pepe Youtube highlight reel players. If you knew nothing about them as players you'd think they were world class based on their highlights because they're both capable of doing amazing stuff.

The problem is those clips don't show the other times when they make elementary mistakes or their techniques let them down and those situations naturally occur much more frequently than the great goals etc.

I do agree with you that his bottom line needs a bit of work though. Every player makes basic mistakes occasionally but it does seem to happen a bit too frequently with Pepe. It does concerns me though, If a player is struggling with some pretty basic technical stuff at 25, is he ever going to get it?

There are quite a few things I like about him though. It's obviously not natural to him but he's really improved his work rate and tracking back this season.

For a player that's not massive height wise, I'm not sure I've ever seen him lose a header either. He's excellent in that department.
Agree with what you’ve said except the low IQ part. I think some players just like to dribble. He seems to be able to pick a pass and link up well with the likes of Saka, ESR, Ødegaard and Chambers, (basically any half decent technician) and his movement in behind is pretty good as well. If he had been surrounded by players like the above for the majority of his time here I wonder if you’d still think the same?

@Red London ’s comments about the bottom line are accurate and while I think some of that will always be there due to the inconsistent technique, it has noticeably gotten better with minutes and will continue to I think.
 

Blood on the Tracks

AG's best friend, role model and mentor.
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Agree with what you’ve said except the low IQ part. I think some players just like to dribble. He seems to be able to pick a pass and link up well with the likes of Saka, ESR, Ödegaard and Chambers, (basically any half decent technician) and his movement in behind is pretty good as well. If he had been surrounded by players like the above for the majority of his time here I wonder if you’d still think the same?

@Red London ’s comments about the bottom line are accurate and while I think some of that will always be there due to the inconsistent technique, it has noticeably gotten better with minutes and will continue to I think.

I do think that being surrounded by ESR, Saka, Ødegaard etc helps Pepe out to show his best form and he should get more opportunities to start with those guys based on the form he's shown the past couple of months.

This is the thing for me, it's clear that Pepe is putting in a lot of effort to try and improve aspects of his game that are weaker.

That gives him quite a lot of leeway to me. Plus his recent performances have generally been somewhere between decent and good.

Next season I think he really needs to show some real top form though. I'm not overly concerned with how his general play is or how many times he loses the ball. I want him to push on in producing end product. Rack those goals and assists up.

I know some people have been a bit critical of him for being shot happy but if anything I want him to be more greedy. He's one of the best strikers of a ball at the club, he should deploy that more often i feel.
 

Iceman10

Established Member
I know some people have been a bit critical of him for being shot happy but if anything I want him to be more greedy. He's one of the best strikers of a ball at the club, he should deploy that more often i feel.

I felt similar about some criticisms of Martinelli being “shot happy” during the first half against SHU also. It’s not easy threading the needle to a player in the heart of the six yard box the way defences are organised and often we don’t have a poacher there at the right time to get onto the end of a final pass from a runner anyway. I want to see these players have the confidence to be direct.
 

Blood on the Tracks

AG's best friend, role model and mentor.
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I felt similar about some criticisms of Martinelli being “shot happy” during the first half against SHU also. It’s not easy threading the needle to a player in the heart of the six yard box the way defences are organised and often we don’t have a poacher there at the right time to get onto the end of a final pass from a runner anyway. I want to see these players have the confidence to be direct.

I think a lot of fans think Wenger's walk it into the back of the net philosophy is the only way to play football.

To me you play to your players strengths. In and around the box players like Martinelli and Pepe's first thought should be to get a shot away. Even someone like Xhaka could do with taking a few more long shots every now and then. He's got a rocket of a shot on him.

Ironically it's a player like Partey who likes to unleash shots every time he gets and that's probably not his forte, to put it kindly :lol:
 

truth_hurts

but Holding’s hair transplant was painless
The Salah comparisons are awful. Salqh is supremely direct in everything that he does. Pepe is slow and laboured.

I like Pepe a lot, but he is a playmaker on the wing. When he first joined, I was expecting a lacey, direct runner.
 

Iceman10

Established Member
The Salah comparisons are awful. Salqh is supremely direct in everything that he does. Pepe is slow and laboured.

I like Pepe a lot, but he is a playmaker on the wing. When he first joined, I was expecting a lacey, direct runner.

The talk above was just about management of these players. There was no statement above saying Pepe was on the same level. This is a bit like the AMN thread over the last day or so where comments were not properly read or comprehended in certain cases.
 

dashsnow17

Doesn’t Rate Any Of Our Attackers
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One of the criticisms of Pepe that I don't really get is that he gives the ball away a lot.

I mean yeah, It can be frustrating at times but it's just the nature of the type of player he is. He's not a percentages player. Even when he's playing great he's going to give the ball away more than most.

He's like a poor man's Alexis imo, which is fine. It's a shame we paid so much for him, but I like having a player of that profile in the squad. It's like having a secret weapon, the secret being you don't know whether he's going to damage the opposition or damage you.

I also agree it's fine for players to lose the ball if they're taking risks. I'd say the frustration isn't that he attempts dribbles or difficult passes, in the way Alexis did, it's when he's running with the ball and just leaves it behind, or fails to make simple passes. It's ok to lose the ball, Alexis did that, but sometimes Pepe just doesn't do the very simple stuff a professional footballer should do. That's why he's frustrating.
 

HairSprayGooners

My brother posted it ⏩
He's like a poor man's Alexis imo, which is fine. It's a shame we paid so much for him, but I like having a player of that profile in the squad. It's like having a secret weapon, the secret being you don't know whether he's going to damage the opposition or damage you.

I also agree it's fine for players to lose the ball if they're taking risks. I'd say the frustration isn't that he attempts dribbles or difficult passes, in the way Alexis did, it's when he's running with the ball and just leaves it behind, or fails to make simple passes. It's ok to lose the ball, Alexis did that, but sometimes Pepe just doesn't do the very simple stuff a professional footballer should do. That's why he's frustrating.

Not sure I get this comparison, he's an Alexis without the aggression maybe?
 

dashsnow17

Doesn’t Rate Any Of Our Attackers
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Not sure I get this comparison, he's an Alexis without the aggression maybe?

Yes without the aggression and the mentality, but a wide player equally able to score and create with high risk/reward. Also Alexis was generally able to do simple things like dribble with the ball without tripping over it half the time.
 

HairSprayGooners

My brother posted it ⏩
Yes without the aggression and the mentality, but a wide player equally able to score and create with high risk/reward. Also Alexis was generally able to do simple things like dribble with the ball without tripping over it half the time.

Pepe is quite a bizarre player, bloke can literally nutmeg a guy and then smash it top bins or he can trip over the ball and his first touch can go out of play.

Consistency obviously comes with playing time, but when he plays he doesn't show any consistency.
 

truth_hurts

but Holding’s hair transplant was painless
My Salah comparison is accurate, Salah is just doing the same things at a higher level IMO. Both have weirdly inconsistent and unorthodox technique but overall get the job done. 😂 I’m tempted to say that Salah’s touch is even more inconsistent.

I think it’s a product of their football ‘upbringing’ more than anything. If Pepe got a consistent run of games people would see that the odd weird touch is offset by the positives he does bring.

There’s a difference between bad technique and inconsistent technique though and Pepe falls into the latter, definitely not the former. I think the inconsistency is exaggerated as well, lad is just under the microscope atm.
@Iceman10 learn how to read for understanding and not just to comment.

The Salah comments that I have read pertain to playing styles, not ability as you suggest or how they've been treated by their manager.
 
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