When <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/arsenal/">Arsenal</a> broke the bank to sign <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/nicolas-pepe/">Nicolas Pepe</a> for a reported $88 million from Lille in 2019, it was a record transfer for the club. At the time, the winger was seen as one of Europe’s brightest young talents. However, despite a promising start, his form quickly dipped, and his time at the Premier League club ended in disappointment. Now at Villarreal, Pepe has opened up about the challenges that led to his struggles at Arsenal.



After an outstanding 2018-19 Ligue 1 season, where Pepe scored 22 goals and provided 11 assists in 38 appearances, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/unai-emery/">Unai Emery</a> brought the winger to the Premier League with high expectations. However, Pepe admits that his hefty price tag, combined with the abrupt dismissal of Emery, played a significant role in his difficulties adapting to life at Arsenal.



“When a club pays that much for you, the little details don’t matter. I was young; it was the first time I had left France to play abroad. I had to adapt in lots of ways, but people don’t see that. They only see what happens on the pitch. Automatically, the first player to be criticized is the one that cost a lot of money. You have to be getting goals and assists. People expected 30, 35, 40 goals a season. But it was only Messi and Ronaldo who did that,” Pepe told The Athletic.



Despite making an impact in his early months, contributing 3 goals and 3 assists in 16 matches under Emery, Arsenal’s disappointing results led to the coach’s sacking, and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/mikel-arteta/">Mikel Arteta</a> was brought in as his replacement. That’s when Pepe’s role began to diminish.



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“With Arteta, it wasn’t… well, it was good at the start. After that, the confidence wasn’t really there. I got less and less game time, so there was some frustration. I’m not someone who likes being on the bench every week without justification or explanation. So yeah, that’s something that created some tension,” admitted the 29-year-old.


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Pepe also discussed how online criticism began to affect his mindset and on-pitch performances: “I saw a lot of nasty comments. When you see what people think of you, it affects you and your family, whether you like it or not. I’m a player who takes risks. But when you have all that in your head, you try not to be too daring… I have a lot of character and a lot of pride. But sometimes it’s difficult. You get the ball and you pass it backwards because you’ve already had to withstand so much criticism.”



<h2>Unai Emery convinced Pepe to join Arsenal</h2>



Although Arsenal’s offer was hard to refuse, Pepe admitted that the main reason he chose the Gunners over other suitors was his relationship with Unai Emery. A call with the former Arsenal manager sealed the deal, even over interest from Carlo Ancelotti.



“I had a call with Carlo Ancelotti, who was Napoli coach at the time. It lasted five minutes. Half an hour later, I received another call, this time from Unai Emery. It lasted an hour,” Pepe admitted. “He spoke about tactics, what he wanted from me, where he was going to play me, how I could expect to improve under him. Loads of detail. And although he’s not a great French speaker, he spoke to me in French for a whole hour. I felt his desire to work with me,” he said.



Pepe’s Arsenal career was marked by inconsistency. In 112 appearances in the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/premier-league/">Premier League</a>, he scored 27 goals and provided 21 assists. His time at Arsenal included a loan spell at Nice before his contract ended in June 2023, after which he joined Turkish side Trabzonspor.



Despite not being responsible for the club’s hefty investment, Pepe acknowledges the burden that came with his price tag. As he reflects on his career, it’s clear that the pressure of being Arsenal’s record signing was a heavy weight to carry. However, now at Villarreal, he seems to have found a more comfortable environment, one where he can thrive without the same intense scrutiny.

$88M Arsenal flop opens up about the reasons behind his Premier League failure

$88M Arsenal flop Nicolas Pepe explains the reasons behind his Premier League failure - World Soccer Talk

$88M Arsenal flop Nicolas Pepe explains the reasons behind his Premier League failure

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Arsenal announced on Saturday that they have released striker Nicolas Pepe of Ivory Coast to sign with Trabzonspor of Turkey’s Super Lig.



With a then-record transfer price of about $90 million, the Gunners acquired the 28-year-old in 2019 from Ligue 1 club Lille. With this summer’s $130 million pound transfer of England midfielder <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/lampard-confesses-chelseas-prime-target-set-to-join-arsenal-20230713-WST-442925.html">Declan Rice</a> from West Ham, they set a new record transfer fee.



<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/arsenals-pepe-linked-with-transfer-away-from-emirates-20230907-WST-454590.html">Pepe</a> was never able to establish himself with the Gunners, moving to a supporting role until he finally started his last <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/">Premier League</a> game for the club in October 2021. He was on loan at French club Nice last year and scored eight goals in 28 games.



<h5>Pepe latest player to see contract torn up under Arteta</h5>



Although Pepe rejoined <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/arsenal-tv-schedule/">Arsenal</a> this summer, he did not take part in the team’s preseason. The team has given him permission to seek a new team for quite some time.



Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Shkodran Mustafi, Sead Kolasinac, Willian, and Hector Bellerin all left the club during Mikel Arteta’s tenure as manager. 



Now, the Ivorian winger is the latest player to have his contract canceled.



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<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">"Buraya; şampiyon olmak ve başarılar kazanmak için geldim" Nicolas&nbsp;Pepe <a href="https://t.co/sh4qNudmtV">pic.twitter.com/sh4qNudmtV</a>— Trabzonspor (@Trabzonspor) <a href="https://twitter.com/Trabzonspor/status/1699919072027087035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 7, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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In a <a href="https://www.arsenal.com/news/nicolas-pepe-leaves-club" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">press release</a>, the English side said: “We can confirm that Nicolas Pepe is leaving the club. We have agreed with Nicolas to terminate his contract with immediate effect. Everyone at Arsenal thanks Nicolas for his contribution during his time with us and wish him well for the future.”



<h5>Arsenal still owe $12m to Lille</h5>



Pepe was one of the highest-paid players for Arsenal, but he was already prepared to accept a wage reduction in order to finally escape north London.



By getting rid of the winger, the Gunners will save between $8.7 million and $11.2 million every year.



The only problem is that the Gunners made a big deal about signing the player from Lille in 2019, promising to pay the total sum in installments. The <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/nicolas-pepe-arsenal-fc-contract-termination-b1105993.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Evening Standard</a> reports that they have yet to pay another installment worth almost $12.4 million.



Photo credit: IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

Arsenal to continue paying Lille for Pepe despite deal termination

Even though Pepe has since left Arsenal, the club is still obligated to pay the huge transfer cost that was incurred when they acquired him.

Arsenal to continue paying Lille for Pepe despite deal termination - World Soccer Talk

Arsenal remains hopeful that Nicolas Pepe will soon depart the club. The Ivory Coast international is still technically with the team despite not featuring at all so far this season under Mikel Arteta. Although the Premier League’s summer transfer window closed last week, there are still options for Pepe.



The <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/nicolas-pepe-besiktas-transfer-arsenal-fc-b1105539.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Evening Standard</a> is reporting that the 28-year-old winger is being linked with Turkish duo Besiktas and Trabzonspor. Pepe previously blocked a potential move to Besiktas in August. However, he may have to reconsider his decision to play once again. The transfer window in Turkey does not close until September 15th.



<h5>Previous record transfer has not started a game for Arsenal since 2021</h5>



Pepe is currently in his final year under contract at <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/arsenal-tv-schedule/">Arsenal</a>. He previously signed a five-year deal with the Gunners when he joined from Lille in 2019. Although he was the club’s most expensive signing at the time, the winger did not exactly deliver on the pitch. He has managed to score 16 goals and add nine assists in 80 total <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/">Premier League</a> matches. Nevertheless, Pepe did provide key assists during Arsenal’s triumphant run to the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/fa-cup-tv-schedule/">FA Cup</a> title in 2020.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Nicolas Pépé, not convinced by Saudi approaches — deal not happening, his priority is now to join Trabzonspor 🇹🇷 Negotiations to follow in order to reach an agreement, as <a href="https://twitter.com/footmercato?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@footmercato</a> called; he’s completely out of Arsenal project.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AFC</a> prepared to give the green light. <a href="https://t.co/4OncRa8jve">pic.twitter.com/4OncRa8jve</a>— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) <a href="https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1699762905175015430?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 7, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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After three campaigns with the Gunners, Pepe was sent out on loan at <a href="https://www.worldsoccertalk.com/ligue-un-tv-schedule">Ligue 1</a> side Nice last season. The forward netted eight goals in 28 total matches with the French club. Nice did have an option to make Pepe’s transfer permanent but eventually decided against the move.



<h2>Arsenal looking to clear Nicolas Pepe weekly wages</h2>



Arsenal is not going to pick up a significant transfer fee if it offloads Pepe. The Gunners previously shelled out a fee of about $87 million for the winger in 2019. While the Premier League club won’t recoup much of this massive fee, they will be looking to clear the player’s wages. Pepe earns around $174,000 each week. This is the eighth-highest salary in the squad. Pepe earns more than Martin Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale and Gabriel Martinelli.



Assuming a deal cannot be brokered with a Turkish team, a mutual agreement to tear up Pepe’s contract could also happen. The winger does not currently even have a jersey number. Club brass previously gave his No. 19 shirt to Leandro Trossard in January. 



PHOTO: IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

Arsenal's Pepe linked with transfer away from Emirates

Arsenal is looking to sell outcast Nicolas Pepe to a Turkish club within the next week. The winger has not started a match since 2021.

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