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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been accused of dropping the ball with a big-money signing
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Nicolas Pepe has admitted his relationship with Mikel Arteta went downhill after he struggled to adapt to English football following his big-money move to Arsenal. The Ivorian joined Arsenal from Lille for a €79 million (£72m) transfer fee in 2019, smashing the Gunners’ club record. But Pepe was unable to make a serious mark on a still-developing side and found himself mostly appearing from the subs’ bench. Pepe was sent out on loan to Nice in 2022 and departed for Trabzonspor on a free transfer last year, spending a year in Turkey before moving on again to Villarreal. Reflecting on his time at Arsenal, Pepe told The Athletic: “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. ” The 29-year-old feels he could have been better supported in his first venture outside French football, saying: “There was this relentlessness, as if people didn’t care about the adaptation process. It was, ‘You have to perform, you have to perform. ’ “It’s like I served as an example for those that followed. Clubs now think ‘if we’re going to pay big for a player, we have to protect him. ’ The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. “Arsenal protected me, but it was like it was the first time. Today, there are players who cost a lot more than me and are producing less than I did, but they don’t get criticised. “I think my move was shocking to some people, in the sense that it was [Arsenal’s] first big fee. I think if they paid the same amount for me now, I wouldn’t be criticised in the same way. ” He added: “You know you cost €80m, and that everyone will be talking about you if things don’t go well. “Unconsciously it plays on your mind. You can claim it doesn’t get to you, but it does. It’s one of the difficulties of football today. There are players out there who are very good but perhaps cost too much – but that’s not their fault. ” Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, We Are Terriers. com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023. No I'm not lying - EA FC 25 has been discounted by 57% in the Black Friday sales ‘I’m obsessed with wasting my life, I’m fine like this’ legendary former Inter Milan and Brazil striker Adriano gives deeply personal interview about his life after football Diego Maradona's 'unknown friend' breaks silence for the first time on the anniversary of the Argentinian football legend's death Four Four Two is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. ©
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