Nicolas Pepe: Arsenal’s Explosive Lifeline?

Nicolas Pepe could feature for Arsenal against Southampton after serving his three-game suspension.

A treacherous set of fixtures have passed since Nicolas Pepe‘s brain imploded against Leeds, with that night in Yorkshire now a distant memory. Fans have moved on. Arsenal have moved on.

Three Premier League matches have since passed without a point and just one goal to boot, the latter of those stats being where the Ivorian could have a telling say.

Two of the three Europa League outings he’s embarked on since have treated supporters to the closest resemblance of who everyone hoped he could be, but they count for nothing. Dead-rubbers against some of the few sides around less talented than Arsenal can change opinion only so much.

This is where it matters.

Brought in as an immediate talent, who still had scope to improve and become one of the best in the division further down the line, the game-changing nature of Pepe’s talent was front and centre of his acquisition.

Someone capable of plucking a chance out of thin air, fighting his way out of tight corners and providing a genuine goal threat. There hasn’t been close to enough of that regularly since joining Arsenal.

Southampton visit the Emirates on Wednesday in magnificent form, playing a high-pressing, relentless brand of football topped by one of the most exciting strike partnerships in Europe. The final point is not an exaggeration, they link superbly and perfectly complement one another.

Their threats are clear. Arsenal’s less so. However, the return of Pepe to the starting lineup could offer Mikel Arteta exactly what his side have been missing.

<p>Brought in as an immediate talent, who still had scope to improve and become one of the best in the division further down the line, the game-changing nature of Pepe’s talent was front and centre of his acquisition.</p> <p>Someone capable of plucking a chance out of thin air, fighting his way out of tight corners and providing a genuine goal threat. There hasn’t been close to enough of that regularly since joining Arsenal.</p> <p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/12/15/nicolas-pepe-arsenal-explosive-lifeline/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/12/14/arsenal-vs-southampton-preview-team/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southampton visit the Emirates on Wednesday</a> in magnificent form, playing a high-pressing, relentless brand of football topped by one of the most exciting strike partnerships in Europe. The final point is not an exaggeration, they link superbly and perfectly complement one another.</p> <p>Their threats are clear. Arsenal’s less so. However, the return of Pepe to the starting lineup <em>could </em>offer <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/12/15/nicolas-pepe-arsenal-explosive-lifeline/"https://fbref.com/en/players/d934d1e6/Mikel-Arteta?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Mikel Arteta</a> exactly what his side have been missing.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/12/15/nicolas-pepe-arsenal-explosive-lifeline/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Unpredictability </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_109354" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-109354" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/12/15/nicolas-pepe-arsenal-explosive-lifeline/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1229801619-850x560.jpeg" alt="Nicolas Pepe, Arsenal" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Arsenal’s French-born Ivorian midfielder Nicolas Pepe (Photo by SVEIN OVE EKORNESVAG/NTB/AFP via Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>Pepe’s Unpredictability</h2> <p>This trait comes in the form of a double-edged sword. On the one hand he’s one of the more <em>predictable</em> members of this squad, yet equally he has more goal contributions than anyone at the club this season (four goals, three assists) – the caveat being he’s been mostly involved in the Europa League.</p> <p>With stagnant movement in the final third and too much reliance on wide areas to carve out openings, there aren’t even flashes of talent littered around in matches from individuals. If there are, it’s down to <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/12/15/nicolas-pepe-arsenal-explosive-lifeline/"https://fbref.com/en/players/bc7dc64d/Bukayo-Saka?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Bukayo Saka</a> bursting through lines.</p> <p>Pepe’s display against Dundalk left plenty to be desired, admittedly. We’ve called for consistency in his games and got two on the trot. That said, even in Ireland there were smatterings of quality dotted about that brought with them opportunities, the like that have been abandoning the Emirates all season.</p> <p>Whether he makes one or two chances, has one or two pops at goal, it’s more of an attacking threat down the right flank than we’ve seen from Willian. The Brazilian has had one shot on target in the Premier League. It came eight minutes into his debut.</p> <p>Head scratching and moments of irritation will follow against the Saints in Pepe’s performance. There is every chance he’ll fluff his lines once or twice. But at least there will be reason to be annoyed. With <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/12/15/nicolas-pepe-arsenal-explosive-lifeline/"https://fbref.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=8b9ebd03,1f85d0c8,96f82d0a&amp;search=Willian&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Willian</a>, the frustration comes from him not offering anything. Pepe is at least more likely to be in with a sniff of goal or playing a teammate in.</p> <p>Ask the Southampton defenders who’d they’d rather come up against on that right hand side and it’s Pepe over Willian. <a style="background-color: #ffffff" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/12/15/nicolas-pepe-arsenal-explosive-lifeline/"https://fbref.com/en/players/c5bdb6e3/Reiss-Nelson?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Reiss Nelson</a> is a topic for elsewhere.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/12/15/nicolas-pepe-arsenal-explosive-lifeline/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Save the Scorn </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_109353" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-109353" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/12/15/nicolas-pepe-arsenal-explosive-lifeline/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1229941629-850x560.jpeg" alt="Nicolas Pepe, Arsenal" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 03: Nicolas Pepe of Arsenal (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>Save the Scorn</h2> <p>This team (this club) is crestfallen. Anger blends scarily well with agony. It’s hard to decide which one takes centre stage.</p> <p>Pepe coming into the team isn’t going to right wrongs or stop the rut, but he will give this side more than they currently have. Most other Premier League players could add spark to this team, in fairness.</p> <p>He’s paid his dues following <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/12/15/nicolas-pepe-arsenal-explosive-lifeline/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/11/22/nicolas-pepe-dug-grave-arsenal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that nonsensical episode</a>, with a run of fixtures in the top-flight setup absolutely paramount to ensuring Arsenal have the best chance of coming out of this Christmas period not sunk deep into the bottom three.</p> <p>The need for flair players at this stage has never been more evident. Structurally and tactically there issues in abundance, just as the general lack of quality is telling.</p> <p>It’s not going to be pretty all the time, but Pepe has the quality <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/12/15/nicolas-pepe-arsenal-explosive-lifeline/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/11/11/whats-wrong-arsenal-player-diversity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that few of the squad members have</a> been able to demonstrate this season.</p> <div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="4 Players Who Could Leave in January" data-url="https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/12/15/arsenal-3-players-leave-gunners-january/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/12/15/nicolas-pepe-arsenal-explosive-lifeline/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/12/15/arsenal-3-players-leave-gunners-january/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> 4 Players Who Could Leave in January </a> </div> </div> <p>The Ivorian is yet to demonstrate that in the league apart from a solid 30-minute cameo against Sheffield United, but he can provide an explosive lifeline that even if only boosts Arsenal’s chances of scoring by 5%, takes us up to five whole percent.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">