Former Arsenal record-signing Nicolas Pepe endured a tough time in North London, but he was set up to fail by circumstances beyond his control.
Arsenal sprung a surprise when they chose to spend £72m on Pepe, who had enjoyed an outstanding campaign with Lille. He was seen as a winger who could elevate the quality of the Arsenal attack and add some much-needed speed in wide areas.
Pepe showed signs of immense talent early on. His first Premier League start came as a split striker in a defeat to Liverpool at Anfield, but he caused Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson nightmares with his movement and dribbling.
However, it was a slow start for him in a struggling side, which eventually led to Unai Emery’s dismissal in November 2019.
Pepe would only last two seasons at Arsenal before being loaned and eventually released, and as he revealed that Arsenal did not want him to move to Saudi Arabia, he also hit out at the treatment he was given after his move.
Nicolas Pepe bemoans Arsenal critics after difficult start following record move
Speaking in an interview with L’Equipe, Pepe hit out at the criticism he received after his arrival, highlighting that he did not choose his transfer fee.
“That’s what people say to themselves: ‘He had everything to succeed there but he didn’t, so he’s a failure.” After my years in Lille, it’s one, that’s for sure. But we must be able to be self-critical without expecting it from others. Above all, I have a feeling of revenge on myself,” he stated.
“I didn’t ask for €80m (£72m) to be spent on me. At this amount, people don’t care where you come from, they want you to perform directly. It only talks about statistics, it’s a shame but it’s current affairs. There aren’t many players who immediately score 25 goals per season, and I’m not even a number 9. I wasn’t going to play in the Premier League like that. But that’s what earned me this flood of criticism.”
Nicolas Pepe hints at internal problems at Arsenal
Pepe struggled under Unai Emery before finding signs of life under Mikel Arteta, and ended his first season by assisting the winner in the FA Cup final.
However, he has now hinted that some at the club were a hindrance to his progress.
“It was almost harassment. I don’t look at social media a lot, but if my brother relayed “that was said about you”, unconsciously, it touched me. It also came from the media or certain people at the club. They don’t realize that it can have an impact on the mind, on the family and that has repercussions on performance. The only people who have always supported me are Arsenal fans,” he added.
“It wasn’t like what I did was catastrophic. There were good things with Unai Emery (in 2019). With (Mikel) Arteta also in the second part of the season, where I scored 10 goals starting every other match.
“But at one point, it no longer depended on my performance. We had reached a stage where I was no longer considered because the issues go beyond the professional and the father that I am.”
Nicolas Pepe failure at Arsenal derailed his career
Pepe was one of the most exciting wingers in the world before he joined Arsenal. Now, he is 29 and without a club, and he has claimed that his experience in North London was one which has haunted the rest of his career.
“Honestly, I hadn’t taken this aspect into account. At Arsenal, I had suffered a sort of trauma, as if my passion had been taken away from me, I had a distaste for football. By no longer playing, I wondered why I was doing this job. I doubted to the point that I thought about stopping everything,” he claimed.
“I wondered how they could have picked on me so much. People have gone so far as to call me the biggest flop in the history of the Premier League! But I refused to mope around.”
Nicolas Pepe was over-hated at Arsenal
Pepe is labelled as a flop because of his price tag, and with such a big fee on his shoulders during a difficult period for Arsenal, it was always going to be tough to succeed.
The winger still registered 47 goals and assists for Arsenal, including in some big moments to help win a trophy. He did not fit Arteta’s system well, as a player who thrives on the counter-attack, but he did show signs that he was capable of the extraordinary.
There have been far worse players to have appeared for Arsenal, even in the same teams as Pepe, and other clubs have spent more money on other players who contributed less in the Premier League than the Ivorian.
Whilst his transfer was far from a success, if Pepe was not burdened with such a price tag or pressure, Arsenal may have seen the best of him and made use of a talented player.
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