While Arsenal’s record signing has posted modest stats for a debut campaign, observers have been left unimpressed and believe Ivorian can be better

With one gameweek to go in the Premier League, many observers have been left underwhelmed by Nicolas Pepe’s maiden year in English football.

The former LOSC Lille wideman joined Arsenal in a record £72 million transfer after a remarkable campaign in Ligue 1 where arguably only Paris-Saint Germain’s Kylian Mbappe and Neymar performed better throughout the season, but as the season comes to an end, Gunners supporters may ask if they’ve got their money’s worth.

This was evident in Tony Adams’ recent assessment of the West African, where he stated that outlay on the 25-year-old should have been spent on other areas of the pitch.

“I was very against Pepe to be honest with you because we had [Bukayo] Saka coming through, we’ve got Eddie [Nketiah], Reiss Nelson, [Gabriel] Martinelli,” the ex-Arsenal captain told Astro Supersport. “We’ve got a lot of kids that need to play and to go and buy [Pepe for] £72m, I thought it could have been used in different areas.”

On the one hand, he may have a point: when you spend that much on one player, there’s a certain level of expectation that comes with it, something eight goals and nine assists in 40 appearances in all competitions doesn’t quite justify.

Conversely, 17 goal contributions for the Gunners is bettered only by the talismanic Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, whose goals have been hugely important to Arsenal’s campaign as they chase success in the FA Cup. The Gabonstar was showered with most of the praise for scoring a brace against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, and rightly so too, still Pepe played a huge role in both goals.

While his direct contribution to assist the frontman in the first was apparent, his involvement in the second was a little less conspicuous. With Arsenal completely under the cosh at the time, Pepe, rather than hurriedly clear the ball to relieve the pressure after a City corner, instead cushioned a header on to left-sided centre-back Kieran Tierney.

He then made a darting sprint forward to avail himself for a return pass, hung on to possession by holding off Kyle Walker on the half-way line before releasing the ball to Tierney. The Scot consequently played in Auba with a brilliant ball over the top to make it 2-0, completing a counter that began with the wideman’s composure at the edge of his box when his side were facing relentless attacks from the Citizens.

Indeed, those sort of in-game decisions don’t show up on the stats sheet, still, the feeling with Pepe so far suggests those moments have been fleeting.

Despite this, the ex-Lille winger’s Prem return going into the final day encounter with relegation-threatened Watford stands at five goals and six assists. Even though this return may be considered unexceptional on initial viewing, he is third for goal contributions in the side, behind Aubameyang (22) and Alexander Lacazette (14).

Pepe, though, leads the way for assists (six) as well as big chances created (eight) indicating that, despite the criticism thrown at him all season, he hasn’t been as bad as advertised.

The tongue-lashing can probably be attributed to the astronomical transfer fee paid nearly a year ago to secure his services, with Gooners and observers consequently burdening him with major expectation even before he’d kicked a ball.

In truth, the inverted winger hasn’t covered himself in glory at various points this season, with his decision-making in the final third and tendency to hold on to possession a little too long a persistent criticism.

Still, it’s hard to not sympathise with the player who’s been thrown in at the deep end in a new league with the side in transition and having to thrive despite the managerial upheaval at the club this season.

The fact he’s also a typical transition player hasn’t helped him get to grips with Premier League football. While Lille were more direct in possession, Arsenal tend to pass the ball around frequently in their build-up, despite the contrary evidence recently under Mikel Arteta and a few times in the last few months of Unai Emery’s time at the club.

This is somewhat backed up by a comparison of the French side’s average possession per game and passes per match in 18/19 with the North London club’s mean in 19/20.

Les Dogues just barely crossed 50 percent for average possession in the Ivorian’s prolific campaign in France, while the 2019 Europa League finalists have 54 percent. For passes per game, it’s significantly wider as Christophe Galtier’s averaged 355 passes last season whereas Arsenal under Emery and Arteta this season have played 411 passes per match.

While this may not present the complete picture for Pepe’s struggles, it does explain some of his challenges adapting to life at the Emirates Stadium.

According to Fbref, the wideman has completed significantly fewer open play passes leading to shots this year (35) compared to last season (103). There’s an equally wide margin for successful dribbles leading to shots too (24 to eight), and the decline is highlighted in the disparity in shot-creating actions per 90 in his first year at Arsenal (2.83) as opposed to 4.68 in his successful final season in Ligue 1.

Nevertheless, his directness has shone through intermittently evidenced by the fact he’s played the second-highest passes into the penalty area, behind Aubameyang, and is also behind only the team’s top scorer for crosses delivered into the area.

While there’s massive room for improvement, Pepe has shown signs of his undoubted talent in an Arsenal shirt, even if he might admit they have been few and far between.

With a topsy-turvy maiden campaign only two matches from completion, the hope for Gooners next year would be to witness performances closer to the Ivory Coast star’s final year in France as he adapts to Arteta’s system and is hopefully less burdened by his record transfer fee.

source:- goal