Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe played an important role in the Gunners’opening goal against Crystal Palace on Monday night but his overall play continues to leave fans frustrated with his performances.
The Ivorian has shown little to justify the record £72m that the club paid for him just under two and a half years ago, and supporters on Twitter are now resigned to the fact that he will not meet the high expectations they had for him:
72 million, Maximin a far better player and we couldve gotten for far less, shocking recruitment
— MzkPunk (@PunkMzk) October 19, 2021
Moments of magic will never be enough if the basics aren’t there
— 🇩🇰AubameBloodClatYang🇩🇰 (@MagnusLanding) October 19, 2021
Absolutely.. People still make excuses for him like it’s his first season here…
— Ab W (@goonerforever_) October 19, 2021
What happens next summer with him will be very interesting. 2 years left on his contract. Can’t see many buyers
— N_FPL (@FPL_NP) October 19, 2021
Facts. Over 10 games, he’ll have 1 or 2 good performances. The rest are either bang average or, most likely, below par even in this team.
— Etienne 🔴⚪️ (@etienne_smith23) October 19, 2021
What frustrates me is his inability to keep the ball. When he receives the ball I’m always 100% sure he’s going to lose it. What I don’t understand is why he starts from the right. When he plays there he is not confident taking on any player. From the left he seems confident.
— RockAfc (@RockAfc1) October 19, 2021
He isn’t that good as we thought him to be. Hugh time we sell him in Jan.
— kumarjit sengupta (@kumro1983) October 19, 2021
Considering Pepe had one of his better games against Palace, it is slightly harsh to be questioning the 26-year-old’s form, but in terms of his overall impact since he joined the Gunners, the criticism is warranted.
For a club-record signing, you would expect a lot more than the 25 goals and 17 assists he has managed in his 96 appearances for the team. The Ivorian international is well past the time when adapting to a new league can be used as an excuse.
With two years left on his contract in the summer, Arsenal may have to make a decision on whether to cut their losses on Pepe.
