WHERE NEXT FOR NICOLAS PEPE?
It’s a very quiet Monday morning. No overnight exclusives to get our teeth into.
This week should see some of the players report back for pre-season, but because of the weird batch of mid-June internationals, there might be a delay for some of the chaps involved in those. Our first fixture is next Thursday when we face FC Nurnberg, so after what feels like a very small gap, football is back. After that, it’s the US tour, when we play the MLS All-Star game, before facing Man Utd and then Barcelona.
The return of players might well see things start to stir when it comes to outgoings. So far, only Pablo Mari has departed, and while we wait for more exciting arrivals, there are some players whose futures are a bit up in the air. It’s not so much that there’s uncertainty about what should happen, but where they’re going to go.
Nicolas Pepe is one, and it’s potentially a bit of a throwback situation. A player with one year left on his deal, but whose salary adds a layer of complication. He remains, for a few days at least, our club record signing, and he was never able to shed that £72m price tag. When players don’t meet expectations, the transfer fee is something of a millstone around their necks, even if it really has nothing to do with them. It’s entirely on the club, but as coaches and executives come and go, it remains a burden for the player.
One of the things that has been most impressive about Arsenal’s recruitment in recent windows is the sense of alignment, that these are deals done in a strategic way. The manager and the Sporting Director obviously communicate well, and the money is spent to fulfill the needs of the team. Pepe’s transfer was basically the opposite. When Unai Emery made it clear he wanted a Premier League experienced, right-footed winger to play on the left (Wilfried Zaha), Raul Sanllehi went out and bought a left-footed winger who plays on the right who had zero experience in this league. Which doesn’t preclude the transfer working out, but it’s clear that not everyone was on the same page with that one.
I also think Pepe was a bit unlucky in that he then found himself at a club going through turbulent times, and a new coach/manager who always seemed to have doubts about him. He ended the 19/20 season quite well, scoring in the FA Cup quarter-final against Sheffield United, and making an assist in the semi and the final. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang aside, he was probably our best player that day against Chelsea.
It could have been a moment to kick on, but behind the scenes the pursuit of Willian was ongoing, and the Brazilian was signed to play in his position. I don’t need to tell you how terrible he was, and during that period in 2020 when it looked very bleak, Pepe started just once in our opening 13 Premier League games. He featured a bit more when Willian’s dreadful form meant his selection could no longer be justified, but even then he never felt like the kind of player Arteta trusted. There was obvious talent, but the emergence of Bukayo Saka, as well obvious worries about the defensive side of Pepe’s game – and aspects of his decision making – meant he was peripheral again.
Sometimes a player ends up at the wrong club at the wrong time, and it feels like Pepe and Arsenal is one of those situations. His stock was so high when we signed him, it’s fair to say it’s taken a tumble since. And that will present a challenge to Edu when he looks to the market for Pepe this summer. He seems to be an example of the player he spoke about last summer when he outlined the difficulties of selling, “If the player is above 26, 27 and not performing, big salary, no chance.”
He didn’t exactly tear it up at Nice last season. 8 goals and 1 assist in a league which saw Alexandre Lacazette look like an effective striker again isn’t going to convince too many people. It might be another one where we have to do a deal which involves incentivising the departure. I’d put another Raul purchase in there too, Cedric Soares on fairly substantial wages is going to be another difficult one to shift – at least for any kind of fee. Which probably makes the fees we get for other players on the way out even more important.
It’s a shame things didn’t work with Pepe, but it shows how important it is to get these big money deals right. You can’t do them on just gut feeling, they have to make sense for the club, the player, and the manager in situ. Which is why the £100m for Declan Rice is easier to get your head around that it might otherwise be. You can see how he fits where we are right now. It’s still an extraordinary sum, but I would posit there’s been a lot more discussion about that deal than there was over our previous record signing.
Hopefully, wherever he goes, he can find some of his mojo again, but we’ll have to wait and see where that might be.
