Former Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe was on fire for Villarreal on Monday night, seeing fans flood to X to react to his performance.
With deadline day fast approaching, the firm focus at Arsenal is the business expected to be completed before the window closes on Friday night.
The Gunners are poised to complete several deals, whether that resemble incomings or outgoings, with a host of players linked both to and from the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta and Edu have a clear plan of what needs to be done before the deadline however, it’s increasingly unlikely that Arsenal will get close to breaking their record transfer fee.
The £105m acquisition of Declan Rice resembled a club-record capture last summer, outdoing the previous £72m record set when Nicolas Pepe was signed in 2019.
Fans were devastated to see Pepe offloaded on a free transfer only four years later as things didn’t work out for the Ivorian in North London.
It’s been a while since Arsenal fans last saw Pepe in action in red and white although, the 29-year-old is still managing to capture attention from Gooners far and wide.
Arsenal fans react as Nicolas Pepe impresses for Villarreal in LaLiga
Earlier this month, Pepe was released from his shackles at Trabzonspor to sign for Villarreal, where he was handed the chance to impress in Spain for the first time in his career.
Things seem to be going swimmingly for the winger, who shone last night when representing his new club against Celta Vigo.
It was a crazy game that saw Villarreal net a 99th-minute winner, with Pepe playing a part in his side’s ability to claim three points.
The Ivorian contributed a fine assist shortly after coming off the bench, seeing Arsenal fans react to his fine work on the flank when seeing his contribution on X.
“That’s a top-notch assist,” one fan said when seeing the former Arsenal ace beat his man to play a perfect ball into the box.
Another Arsenal supporter said, “He gonna shine like he was supposed to,” with another admitting their delight of seeing the forward do well, “Too sweet.. it feels good seeing Nicolas Pepe find his feet again.”
One fan even insisted that Edu and Arteta are yet to replace the Ivory Coast international in the current squad.
“Great player. We still haven’t replaced him. Having him and Saka in the same squad at the same time was a dream.”
One thing that many fans commented on was the potential that Pepe was unable to fully unlock in North London.
“This was the Pepe we expected at Arsenal but he only kept showing glimpses,” one supporter said, with another saying, “Never went right in an Arsenal jersey.”
Some took aim at Arteta and Edu for Pepe’s struggles at the Emirates, “Naturally talented, the price tag and lack of love affected him, Mikel also didn’t do right by him.”
“Edu paid this demon to go…Exact profile we’re missing in the squad,” and, “One of the best that Arteta let go.”
Others struggled to ignore the fact that the Ivorian could have solved one key issue Arteta currently has in his squad, a lack of wingers to compete with Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka.
“Some things really went untold. How’s this guy not good enough as Saka’s backup?” and “Put him in our system now and he flourishes as a backup option.”
It’s refreshing to see Pepe doing well away from Arsenal
One overriding misconception regarding Pepe is that his time at Arsenal was a catastrophic failure.
- READ MORE: Nicolas Pepe slams ‘harassment’ he received from ‘certain people’ at Arsenal, it wasn’t from fans
The Ivorian wasn’t given a chance to properly find his feet at the club yet still managed to contribute to the goals, having a hand in 48 during his time in North London.
It’s refreshing to see Pepe settling in well in Spain, where the 29-year-old has the chance to get his career back on track.
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