Arsenal should call it quits with Nicolas Pepe by Yash
Players such as Sead Kolasinac, Bernd Leno, Rob Holding, Calum Chambers, Cedric, Mohamed Elneny and many more have been constantly mentioned in the Arsenal circles around the globe.
Not in a sense the players’ would like, however.
Majority of the fans want them to leave so that the Gunners can continue to build a very strong squad with a pretty decent depth.
But one player, who hasn’t been talked about much, but should be included in the above list is Nicolas Pepe. The Ivorian was signed for a fee of £72m, a club transfer record.
THREAD (my honest thoughts on Nicolas Pepe):
Bayern Munich chose not to sign Pepe in 2019 because when they analysed his game, they came to the conclusion he needed too much time on the ball to replicate what he was producing in France. I think they’re spot on. pic.twitter.com/A9JT67HUg4
— now.arsenal (@now_arsenaI) November 4, 2021
However, it’s been over two years and the winger has still struggled to impress any Arsenal manager, as well as a good amount of the club’s faithful.
Removing the purple goalscoring patch from the latter stages of last season, where Pepe ended up with 21 goal contributions in 47 appearances, the Ivorian has nothing much to show for in his career in the iconic Red and White jersey.
His dribbling has looked very predictable most of the times. The former Lille man has also lacked inventiveness to cause chaos in the opposition back line.
And those two aspects are usually the things wingers are judged upon.
Whereas Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka have looked like they can do something whenever they have the ball at their feet.
Lille cheated us on Nicolas Pepe for £72m, but we cheated back with Gabriel Magalhães for £27m 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/NVd5Bawiyx
— AFC_TransferNews (@ABTNews_AFC) October 31, 2021
With Smith Rowe and Saka in the team, the team’s blueprint looks closer to where Mikel Arteta truly would want it to be. That’s not the case with Pepe, however.
While Smith Rowe and Saka look like boys having fun in their backyard, Pepe looks like a player playing with shackles on. At this point of time in their rebuild, the Gunners’ hierarchy would want players in the mould of former and not the latter.
Losing possession Is part and parcel in a winger’s life. But if one is losing possession almost everythim he tries to dribble then you have to question whether he can actually dribble.
Don’t get me wrong, I am still of the opinion that Pepe is a talented player. He has already shown it in Ligue 1.
But that’s Ligue 1 and where he’s performing right now is the Premier League. You won’t get much space in one of the best leagues in the world.
Sadly, he has not shown any improvement since his arrival in 2019 and that’s a matter of concern for me.
https://twitter.com/5iveOJ/status/1454415996920471553
In my opinion, Arsenal should go in the market searching for a winger. I am a big fan of Wolves’ duo of Pedro Neto and Adama Traore.
With the talent Arsenal have in their recruitment team, I trust them of finding a “hidden gem,” similar to what we witnessed with Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares.
The one thing Pepe can’t complain about is being not given time. He played 42 games in his first season and 47 in his second.
Now it’s about time that the Arsenal board make the bold decision and continue to be “ruthless.”
WATCH The Just Arsenal Show on YouTube – Dan Smith urges Arsenal fans to not raise expectations too high