Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is reportedly struggling to offload Nicolas Pepe this summer as he seeks to replace him with the signing of Leeds United star Raphinha.
The Gunners spent big on signing Pepe from Lille three years ago, but the Ivory Coast international has proven a major disappointment in his time at the Emirates Stadium.
Now it seems Arsenal want to shift their record signing, with the pursuit of Raphinha a clear signal that he’s not in Arteta’s plan, but it’s proving difficult, according to Goal.
Despite Pepe’s struggles at Arsenal, he showed tremendous natural talent at Lille, and it’s slightly surprising there aren’t more clubs willing to take a gamble on him, perhaps on loan.
It shows just how far his stock has fallen at Arsenal, and fans will surely be gutted at how badly this exciting-looking deal ended up working out for them.
The arrival of Pepe in the summer of 2019 looked like a major statement by Arsenal, but he’s now sure to go down as one of their worst signings of recent times.
I still believe that Pepe is good what is wrong is he is trusted by the coach and fans as well otherwise he is a very good footballer how can he perform when the coach is not featuring him I remember 2020/2021 season Pepe make us to finished 8 position otherwise Arsenal would have finished 12 or 13th this season Arsenal are losing against Wolves when Arteta saw danger he brought Pepe again rescue Arsenal and we won that match why because he was brought in he can’t perform outside the peach only he lack game time feature him regularly you will see perform I bet you if Pepe goes out we will see Pepe in good stead when he play for Ivory coast he always do well be they give him game time till tomorrow the problem of Pepe is Arteta if a proven coach handle Pepe we will see his best Raphinha may not be the answer there are players that perform in small clubs by the time you bring them to a big or bigger clubs they become passengers take the of Saha at man utd he still went back to palace and keep performing let’s be wise to me Arteta and Edu together with Stan Kronke are trying to make Arsenal a small club because of wages PSG are not to compete with Arsenal before but Arsenal are not on the same page with them now a club that is paying a single player one million euro a week and you are paired to play them you expect to win them though it can happen but it will be the biggest upset in soccer Manchester city and Chelsea are making it because they spent big by the way since Chelsea and Man city started spending big have been in there front even if they did not carry league this is food for thought.
English, do you speak it?
Raphinha’s choice’s are
1.Barcelona
2.Chelsea
3 Arsenal
Arsenal have no chance of signing him
The problem with Pepe is that people keep comparing his production with his numbers from Ligue 1 and tying them to his transfer fee, not with what players who play his position in the Premier league produce.
For example, at Lille, Pepe played a wide forward role and had the freedom to move and play anywhere across the front, though he was mostly a right to middle of the pitch player. In that role he scored 22 league goals and added 11 assists. His position at Lille was as a wide forward, much like Mohamed Salah’s at Liverpool or Ronaldo at Real Madrid. In that role, he was second in the Ligue 1 golden boot competition to Kyllian Mbappe.
At Arsenal, Pepe has played a right winger. In his first 2 seasons at Arsenal, Pepe scored 5 goals and provided 6 assists in 2,000 minutes and scored 10 goals and provided 1 assist across 1,600 minutes. This past season Pepe played a scant 600 minutes, primarily in short cameos, and scored 1 goal and provided 2 assists. so it is impossible to evaluate his performance in any meaningful way.
The player Arsenal wants to replace him with, Raphinha, in 2021/22, at Leeds, scored 11 goals and provided 2 assists across 2,900 minutes and in 2020/21 scored 6 goals and provided 9 assists across 2,300 minutes.
Bukayo Saka, in 2021/22 scored 11 goals and provided 7 assists across 3,000 minutes, in 2020/21 he scored 5 and assists 4 in 2,500 minutes, while in 2019/20 he scored 1, assisted 5 in 1,700 minutes. Saka’s fans will point out that his numbers k keep going up, but, not coincidentally, so do his minutes. The more minutes players play, the more they have an opportunity to score goals and provide assists.
Pepe’s production, in terms of goals and assists, compared to his minutes played are in line with what good players who play right wing produce. Saka was credited with a break out season scoring 5 and assisting 4 while Pepe was labeled a bust for scoring 5 and assisting 6. Saka was lauded as Arsenal’s best player after scoring 11 and 7, in 3,000 minutes; but the year before, having played half as many minutes, Pepe was labeled a bust for scoring 10 and assisting 1.
The issue is, Arsenal fans and pundits keep pushing the he cost $72 million, he cost 72 million, for that fee he has to do better! The reality is, transfer fees are determined by the market at the time and agreed to by the clubs. The player has no say in them. Similarly, expecting 22 goals from a winger is unrealistic.
Comparing Pepe to other players in his position tells a different story – one that says he is producing in line with the top 5 players in his position in the Premier League.holding Pepe accountable for things beyond his control – minutes played, position played, etc. is a recipe for constant disappointment due to ridiculous expectations.
😆😆😆😆😆😆😆… Don’t think so