Arsenal paid a club-record £72 million to Lille in the summer to sign Pepe and the Ivorian has had a slow start. The 24-year-old has scored just thrice for us in all competitions and he is yet to score a goal from open play.
Charlton Athletic boss Lee Bowyer spoke about Arsenal’s decision to sign Pepe and he didn’t seem to be impressed with the move.
He said: “Defensively they are frail, they concede too many goals. Their centre-halves have been a problem for years. It’s not just been this season, it’s been for a while now, but they would rather spend £75 million on a winger than a centre-back. Maguire would have been perfect for them, why didn’t they get him?”
Bowyer is wrong:
It is incredibly easy to just point at Arsenal’s defenders and claim that they are the problem. However, it is the system that is causing the biggest problems at both ends. Lack of proper protection in front of the back four has left our two defenders exposed more often than not.
Unai Emery’s reluctance to play an attacking midfielder has left Pepe with little to no service. The Ivorian’s quality on the ball is undeniable and he would certainly thrive in a more attacking system.
The fact that we should have signed a top-class in the summer was clear but signing Harry Maguire wouldn’t really have changed much. Manchester United have conceded just four fewer goals to us and are five places below.
Signing Pepe was an incredible bit of business by Arsenal considering the number of other teams interested in him. The Ivorian will certainly come good once he settles in and with Ozil back in the mix, he will have all the chances he needs to make his mark.
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