Nicolas Pepe compares himself to £88m Mikel Arteta target and explains why he struggled at Arsenal

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Winger Nicolas Pepe was Arsenal’s record signing five years ago, but he is now without a club after a difficult few years.

Arsenal spent £72m on the Ivorian after an excellent season at Lille, and he arrived as an exciting signing. Arsenal needed an injection of speed and flair under Unai Emery, and Pepe was identified as the marquee signing to bring it.

Pepe did start well, as he terrorised Liverpool on his full Premier League debut, but Arsenal eventually hit crisis form before Emery was dismissed in November 2019.

The winger produced flashes of quality, and was instrumental in Mikel Arteta winning the FA Cup in his first season, but a loss of form, losing his place in the team and the emergence of Bukayo Saka left him on the fringes at Arsenal.

He terminated his contract last year, but he has now explained that his failure to succeed at Arsenal came as a result of transfer decisions beyond his control.

Nicolas Pepe highlights huge price tag as big factor in his Arsenal struggles

Speaking to BBC Sport, Pepe claimed that he did not pick his own transfer fee, and highlighted the struggles of Manchester United winger Antony, and Chelsea winger Mykhaylo Mudryk to emphasise how the increased pressure can affect players badly.

“It wasn’t easy at all. And the fans weren’t happy with how I was performing,” he stated.

“When I first joined, the fans weren’t really judging my performances, they were judging the price tag. But I think I did some great things while at Arsenal. I don’t regret my time there.

“But my transfer fee to the club was the highest one they’d signed, so they expected me to score in each match.”

“If Arsenal bought me for £20m, maybe it’d be different,” he said. “It’s not the player’s fault.

“They don’t ask for £100m or £90m. But that’s how it is in the football world and it’s something that people can’t understand.

“There are also players like [Mykhaylo] Mudryk and Antony who don’t perform at their best all the time, and yet they’re not bad players.”

Nicolas Pepe was harshly treated at Arsenal

Pepe recently claimed that there were people inside Arsenal who were determined to see him fail, but overall, his labelling as a huge flop is incredibly harsh.

The winger provided assists in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City, and for the winner in the final against Chelsea in 2020, and occasionally produced incredible goals and skills.

Pepe’s price tag put heavy pressure on him from the moment he arrived, but he still left the club with 47 goals and assists to his name.

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Mudryk joined Chelsea for around £88m in January 2023, after he was heavily pursued by Arteta, and neither he nor Antony have come close to producing performances or output to the level that Pepe managed in his first two seasons at Arsenal.