- Nicolas Pepe admitted that he was frustrated with Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta
- Pepe joined Gunners for a then club record fee
- The 29 year old reflected back on a lot of things at North London
Nicolas Pepe joined Arsenal in 2019 for a then club record fee from Lille. He had a very good 2018/19 season with French side. The 29 year old scored 23 goals and picked 11 assists in 41 games that season. This made Premier League giants to pay £72 million for the signature for Pepe.
But, the story completely changed for Pepe since making a move to North London. Across three season he played 121 games for them and was able to score 27 goals and pick 21 assists.
Pepe then fell down the pecking order which resulted in him joining Nice on loan in 2022. He failed to impress with Nice ans then joined Turkish club Trabzonspor on a free transfer in 2023.
Pepe failed to leave his mark in Turkey too. The Turkish club refused to extend his contract and the 29 year old had to switch sides yet again. He now plays for Spanish club Villarreal.
Nicolas Pepe says he was frustrated with Mikel Arteta
Pepe joined Gunners with very high expectations. But, he never reached his true potential. Now, the 29 year old has opened up about his past. He had a go at Arteta with whom he had good relation at start.
“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” – Pepe speaking to The Athletic.
Lastly, Pepe said that it was hard for him to live up the expectations Arsenal fans had from him. He added that when club pays a huge fee to sign you, it increases pressure and fans only want more goals and more assists from you.
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