After completing his £72m move to Arsenal in 2019, Nicolas Pepe spoke of how he “struggled a lot” and his reward was a big move to the Premier League. As it turns out, his struggles were just beginning. On Saturday, the 28-year-old completed a journey from club record signing to free agent in a four-year downward spiral that reflects poorly on everyone involved.
The days of Arsenal paying players to leave the club were supposed to be over. But due to a lack of interest in the winger who had lost his way badly, the Gunners tore up the final year of his contract and allowed him to join Trabzonspor without a fee.
Pepe is the ninth player to leave in this way since Mikel Arteta took over as manager in 2019, and Arsenal are hoping the Ivorian international is the last.
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It is tempting to suggest that Pepe’s Arsenal career was doomed from the start. The inflated fees created their own burden. There was general surprise among agents in the market that summer that Arsenal paid the same amount as they did, even if Pepe had scored 22 goals and provided 11 assists in the 2018-19 season for Lille.
Lille’s owner, Gerard Lopez, later claimed that another unnamed club had offered more money than Arsenal as a total package including wages – Napoli were a serious contender at one stage – but the final figure was met with widespread skepticism.
ESPN reported in August 2020 that the deal was examined internally as part of a review of the club’s decision-making processes, which led to cost-cutting measures. Although the club denied any official investigation, president of football Raul Sanllehi left later that month without providing an official explanation.
Sanllehi was a key figure in negotiating several deals, including the pursuit of Pepe – who was not then manager Unai Emery’s first choice – to bolster their attacking options. Emery admitted in January 2021 that he actually wanted to sign Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha instead. Ironically, both players are now in Turkey, with Zaha joining Galatasaray earlier this summer.
Emery stated that his preference was based on the idea that Zaha would need less time to adapt to English football; Pepe has certainly struggled in that regard, a process not helped by the change in the dugout. Arsenal sacked Emery in November 2019 and appointed Arteta a month later, radically overhauling the style of play and the squad itself.
Even in the midst of the transition period, Pepe had his moments. There was his stunning goal in Arsenal’s June 2020 defeat to Brighton and his assist for the winning goal in August’s FA Cup final over Chelsea. In fact, he had a brilliant goal disallowed in that final due to VAR offside – perhaps a slippery moment in a career that never really took off.
Pepe was all about the moments: a brilliant free-kick, a clever skill, a string of goals in the Europa League. But he lacked the consistency that Arteta craved.
Some also questioned his commitment. Sources told ESPN that Pepe spent a lot of time with Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, forming a clique that Arteta increasingly believes is stifling the team’s progress. Aubameyang was later stripped of the captaincy after repeated bouts of ill-discipline and was released to Barcelona while Lacazette’s influence faded and he left on a free transfer to re-join Lyon last year.
Sources suggested that Pepe had developed a reputation for rarely being one of the first players on the training pitch, often hanging out with Lacazette and Aubameyang as the team emerged from the changing room. It was also said that he often neglected to value staff on the training ground who were not closely linked to first-team operations.
By his own admission, Pepe had issues with authority while growing up. On his first day at his first professional club, Angers, the manager asked him to shave off his dyed blond hair. He defied instructions, only doing so late when he was sidelined in pre-season training. Pepe also once again shouted at his coach during an Under-19 match. He was immediately replaced and forced to apologize to his teammates.
Many young players go through such learning experiences and, in his defence, there were certainly signs at Arsenal that Pepe had matured. He was not a forcefully annoying figure, or the ‘spy’ that Arteta sought to identify after news of a training ground brawl between Dani Ceballos and David Luiz leaked to the media in January 2021.
In fact, when Pepe’s partner had a baby in February last year – a seismic moment in anyone’s life – he told Arteta that despite missing training as a result, he still wanted to be selected for the next Premier League squad. A match against Wolverhampton because the team lacked offensive options. Pepe came off the bench to score one goal and create another as Arsenal came from behind to win 2-1.
“I see a different Nico,” Arteta said after that match, pointing to his “energy, his happiness, his all-round play, how he trains” as evidence that Pepe could soon be turning the corner. But it proved another false dawn. Arsenal have evolved under Arteta, Pepe’s stock has diminished further, and the flashes of quality have receded into the darkness.
To his credit, Pepe agreed to take a 25% pay cut to join Nice on loan last season, ensuring the move happened rather than taking the easy option of staying on a higher salary with no playing responsibility. He left Arsenal for good with 27 goals in 112 games, agreeing a settlement on the final year of his contract to join Trabzonspor.
Ultimately, Arsenal simply did not know what version of Pepe they were getting, and Arteta is the manager who craves clarity in that regard. Defensively, Pepe didn’t give enough effort, but regardless that didn’t help his cause. At the same time, Bukayo Saka has rapidly developed into one of the most consistent and dangerous right-wing players in Europe, beloved by Arsenal fans.
Since then, the Gunners have overhauled their transfer approach with great success such as the acquisitions of Martin Odegaard, Ben White and Gabriel Jesus. Among other things, it indicates.
Meanwhile, Pepe seeks to rebuild his career in Turkey, and the struggle is still real.
