Kevin Campbell insists Nicolas Pepe is a very talented boy, and he is only struggling at Arsenal because he doesn’t suit their style of play.
The winger joined Arsenal from Lille in 2019 as the club’s most expensive signing by several million.
He had a stunning season the previous year in the French Ligue 1 and Arsenal thought they had signed a top player.
However, the Ivorian has struggled under two managers at the club and he is no longer considered an important member of the team.
Former Arsenal man, Campbell, does not agree that he is a bad buy, instead, he admits Pepe just doesn’t fit into Mikel Arteta’s system.
He tells Football Insider:
“Pepe’s just got to play football. He’s young and his talent is unquestionable.
“I just think in the present regime with what you are asked to do at Arsenal with what Mikel Arteta wants he can’t do it, if I’m honest.”
Adding: “Pepe doesn’t have a future at Arsenal. I think he can go on loan, play some football and shine then hopefully somebody will put some money down for him and he can restart his career somewhere else.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Pepe has missed all his chances to prove he is redeemable and we just need to move on from having him in our squad.
The Ivorian rarely shows his qualities and we now have better players for his position.
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He is right! With the right team and manager, he will flourish
I think he is right on this one; some combinations of players and managers just don’t work out for various reasons. Pepe and Auba are two recent examples with us.
Auba can clearly score goals, just struggled (or quit) under the system and tactics of Arteta. I think Pepe will find his form with another manager and system, hopefully in another league not competing with us.
Yes, hopefully he can agree personal terms with Nice. He clearly has no future here. Give this man some space to run into and we will see the best of him. Nothing about his style suits us unfortunately and this was a bad purchase. Pepe was bought during our “splashing money” phase where staffers just tried to go for some nice signings instead of going with an actual vision. When we spend this kind of money again I don’t expect the player to flop. Can’t say Pepe didn’t try his best and I wish him luck on his future. I really do want to see him back out there showing off his talent.
Pepe has talent, but talent is not enough. Because, Football is evolving and to be a competitive footballer, you must be flexible enough to adapt to new developments. Else, you will be left behind.
Pepe is getting left behind, though he’s talented.