Nicolas Pepe on my mind By Sylvester Kwentua
When Nicholas Pepe was being pursued by Arsenal with the intention of signing him two seasons ago, he was red hot in the French league where he was plying his trade then. He was so impressive that even non Arsenal fans felt Arsenal was going to sign a world class winger, who also has an eye for goal. Two seasons later, the whole football planet seems to be waiting for this talented gentleman to show the stuff he is really made of, even though he has shown us flashes of his potential in a few games he has played.
Nicolas Pepe may not totally be at fault for his form in the Premier League, but then who can be blamed? Nobody really can be blamed, but I feel a great lot of pity for my brother from Africa, Pepe. Why do I pity him this much? Ride on with me please.
For starters, Pepe was brought to Arsenal to give the team the much needed bite from the wings, which has been missing several seasons before Arsenal even thought of bidding for him. He came to a big club, carrying along a bigger responsibility. A responsibility that was probably too early for him to bear in his Arsenal career. We all know how talented players have been crushed in the past, by the weight of big responsibilities, right? Since we agree on the weight of responsibility crushing certain players, do we then agree that Pepe may be facing the same weight? Well in Pepe’s case, he has not been totally crushed yet, but he has taken time to adjust to this huge responsibility! He sure needs to step up and get counted among those who fought their ways into relevance, and he needs to do that now.
Another reason why I feel pity for Pepe, is because I know that even if he starts being consistent, it may be a little too late to save his Arsenal’s career. With the emergence of talented wingers like Bukayo Saka, Martinelli and playmakers like Odegaard and Smith-Rowe, Arteta may feel he has enough skillful and attacking players who are delivering on a steady basis to choose from, thereby limiting Pepe to sporadic appearances. Not looking good for Pepe right?
However, I will like to add here that Pepe’s career is not yet over at Arsenal, and an improved attitude towards matches and a little consistency from him, may as well give Arteta room for thought.
So guys, what advice do you have for Nico? We are Arsenal and proud.
Sylvester