Former Arsenal man, Kevin Campbell, has predicted that the Gunners will move Nicolas Pepe on soon as he struggles to establish himself at the club.
The Ivorian remains the club’s record buy, but he is struggling to make a name for himself at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta has now placed the likes of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe above him on the pecking order.
Both players are doing well and it is hard to see Pepe getting back into the Arsenal first-team any time soon.
He will have two more seasons left on his current deal in the summer and Campbell is convinced that Arsenal will look to cash in on him instead of losing him for free.
He told Football Insider: “This is a really tough season for Nicolas Pepe.
“He’s played a lot of games for Arsenal now – he’s done okay, but that consistency just hasn’t been there.
“When you’ve got two youngsters from the academy who are starting games and being more productive than you, putting in a better shift – then the writing’s on the wall for Pepe.
“The price tag was obviously inflated, and he will only have two seasons left on his contract after this one. If he doesn’t secure a first-team place, then I can see Arsenal cashing in.
“You don’t know what you’re going to get from Pepe in terms of goals, assists, and productivity. That’s why they will probably choose to move him on.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Pepe has been one of the worst signings in recent history and the sooner we get rid of him, the better.
The former Lille man is simply not good enough to play for Arsenal, and as the team gets better, it becomes more and more difficult to see him having a future at the club.
We would sell him at a loss now, but that is much better than keeping him around.
You may need to wait until the summer at the earliest to get your wish as Arteta has stated categorically he won’t be going anywhere in the winter window.
The fact that we paid 72m for Pepe is yet another example of poor recruitment which has weighed us down for some time and is now hopefully behind us.Pepe is a guy with real talent which unfortunately has not been harnessed properly by our current Manager imo.He needs to be played on the left or, indeed, through the centre as he has proved totally ineffective on the right. We have unfortunately paid a huge premium for the lad, but that’s not his fault.Basically, he has most of the physical attributes needed to make a successful footballer and a wand of a left foot.The lack of European football is coming back to haunt us as the likes of Pepe , Martenelli and Holding are getting precious little game time which must be a source of considerable frustrations for them.What annoys me intensely is the fact that Auba continues to be a first team pick despite performing very poorly, and yet Pepe and Martinelli remain on the sidelines.Seems unfair to me.
I think it was the first edu signing and as it has been said he had no idea of Europe scope so it’s a mistake and you make mistakes when you are doing something so i agree.
Pepe/Martinelli should be tried as Strikers, playing in front of Lacazette,
They both have quick feet and don’t hesitate to shoot,
The problem with Pepe, He doesn’t support his fullbacks, while Martinelli plunged into every tackle,
IMO, Pepe should be played in the center or given freedom to roam.
PEPE IS A FAILURE, even had his fee been say £25mil instead of £72 mill.
He is unreliable and cannot get into the team and deservedly not too. He needs to be sold asap for whatever we can get, before he becomes yet another huge liability.
He is already a huge waste, as we will be lucky to get back a third of his original fee.
But lets get rid and cut our long term losses. A rash and stupid buy, esp for all that money!
One of our worst signing in recent history? Pepe has been a much better signing than Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard, Ben White, Willian, Soares, Mari…the list goes on. And I’m sure there are data and statistics to support my case. BIASED OPINION!!!
RFrancis, have you not thought to take into account the huge fee of £72 mill paid for him!! If not , then why not?
I can agree that Willian , Mari were poor buys but Willian was on a free and Soares though very poor, cost very little by comparison.
And why did you choose to ignore telling us all of the “data and stats to support your case” then? It couldn’t be ‘cos they don’t exist, could it!!