Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe certainly hasn’t performed to the levels that supporters expected when he signed for £72m from Lille in the summer. Manager Mikel Arteta has called for patience, saying he simply needs time to adapt:
“If you go through the list of top players that have come to this country, how disappointing they were for the first ten to 12 months then how incredible they were for the next five years, I think we could have a massive list. It’s not easy to adapt to this league but he’s putting in the effort and he’s willing to do it. And it will come out.”
A lot of fans on Twitter agree with the Gunners boss’s assessment of the Ivorian international and are willing to wait and see if he can establish himself in the first team:
Anyone calling him a flop clearly doesn’t understand the game. He will be a top player. Give him time!
— Rob (@alwaysagooner83) 16 February 2020
All those fans criticising him should remind themselves how Bergkamp and Henry used to play when they joined
— Raf (@89_raf) 16 February 2020
I think he will develop to his full potential under Arteta. Can be our equivalent of Sterling ?
— The Used Notes (@NotesUsed) 16 February 2020
Your can't call him a flop, in all matches he has been involved in, he does something special for the team, critically look through the statistics
— yiga Shebashivincent (@YigaV) 16 February 2020
He has clear ability. Flair and audacious dribbling skills. If he came for 15m, it would be ‘bargain’. The price tag means nothing. He will come good. Different kettle of fish slipping into a team on the rise. We’ve been all over the shop this season!
— Chris (@PieAFC87) 16 February 2020
A couple of games and he will be banging goals
— Robert Mukendi (@MukendiRobert) 16 February 2020
Arteta has, though, admitted that Pepe is struggling for consistency, and there are also a number of supporters who believe that the winger is simply not up to playing in the Premier League:
Tbh I think Arsenal overpaid though, he only had one brilliant season in Ligue 1
— TrinAFC (@GunnerTP14) 16 February 2020
Indeed
72million for a mediocre— Exotic Jay (@SneakExotic) 16 February 2020
How much patience does a 72m player really deserve to get? The specific criticism La Gazzetta is giving him is unfair and saying he's a flop suggests no faith in him overcoming this. I think he can. But the price tag is there and Pepe brought way too little thus far.
— J. ?? (@Gubrach) 16 February 2020
It is way too early to write off the 24-year-old. One of the best examples of a player who initially struggled but turned out to be a fantastic signing was Thierry Henry, and while Pepe may not hit those heights, there is genuine hope that he can gradually improve to become an important player for the team.
