Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe, playing for Nice
Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe, playing for Nice
Darren Bent has issued a surprise defence of Nicolas Pepe’s time in an Arsenal shirt.
The winger arrived from Lille as the Gunners’ record signing, back in 2019, but that price tag often saw his performances come under added scrutiny. The rise of Bukayo Saka coincided with Pepe falling down the pecking order. The Ivory Coast international spent last season on loan at OGC Nice, where he scored eight goals in 28 appearances.
Pepe is not considered to be part of Mikel Arteta’s plans and looks set to leave north London this summer. However, talkSPORT pundit Bent has jumped to the Arsenal man’s defence after comparing his output for the Gunners with two Manchester United wingers, who both arrived for higher transfer fees than Pepe.
“Pepe at Arsenal: 112 appearances, 27 goals, 21 assists. Antony and Sancho at United, combined: 127 appearances, 20 goals, nine assists,” Bent told presenter Andy Goldstein. “You said Pepe was the biggest flop, look at his stats compared to them two!”
It is interesting to see how Pepe’s time in England stacks up against Jadon Sancho and Antony, with both costing £73million and £85million respectively. Though Pepe perhaps failed to hit the heights many imagined he might, the forward still produced occasional moments of magic, including his brace of free-kicks against Vitoria Guimaraes in the Europa League.
The 28-year-old’s next step is yet to be resolved. Nice decided against making Pepe’s loan deal permanent, while the winger also reportedly saw a proposed move to Besiktas collapse.football.london understands that Pepe is not in Arsenal’s plans, amid suggestions that the Gunners have held talks with the player over terminating the remainder of his contract. It has since been claimed that an unnamed Saudi Arabian club are attempting to negotiate a fee for the forward.
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