Arsenal, Nicolas Pepe (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
Arsenal hasn’t had the most fun since returning to action, but Nicolas Pepe’s value continues to solidify, and here are three undeniable facts to prove it.
Arsenal‘s season has thrown a new screw into the equation. After failing under Unai Emery at the start of the season and succeeding under Mikel Arteta, they are now failing under Mikel Arteta. So naturally, the big question I want to answer is—was Nicolas Pepe worth the price?
This is something I’ve been covering throughout the course of the year as Pepe continues to evolve as an attacker and as an overall threat. It’s largely been improving, but there have been some issues as well. Some frustrations.
For a record-signing, you are inevitably going to be expecting the world from him. Because no good fan would be caught dead expecting any less than absolutely everything.
Arsenal won with Nicolas Pepe, and here is why
Even with that being impossible to deliver, I am yet again here to deliver the hard facts. No more opinion. No more speculation. Just facts. Facts that prove that Nicolas Pepe is worth every bit of what we paid for him and nothing less.
Let’s start with fact No. 3.
3. He creates from nothing
There are a lot of things this Arsenal attack does right without Nicolas Pepe. No matter who is out there, the attacking build-up is always quite strong and cohesive. These players combine well, they build together, they play together.
The big downfall of that is if one little thing goes wrong, you lose it all. One dent in the machine and your attack falls apart.
You can’t rely on an attack that is so easily disrupted, and that’s what Nicolas Pepe does right. He is the only guy on this team that can create from nothing. While he can fit in with the cohesive build-up play, he can also just do it all on his own. He’s our best dribbler, arguably our best shot from wide and distant angles and all in all, our best individualized threat. He’s what we’ve not had in years. So yeah, he’s worth it for that reason alone.
On to No. 2.
Arsenal‘s season has thrown a new screw into the equation. After failing under Unai Emery at the start of the season and succeeding under <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/06/22/arsenal-3-nicolas-pepe-success/"https://fbref.com/en/players/d934d1e6/Mikel-Arteta?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Mikel Arteta</a>, they are now failing under Mikel Arteta. So naturally, the big question I want to answer is—was <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/06/22/arsenal-3-nicolas-pepe-success/"https://fbref.com/en/players/57e3f0c7/Nicolas-Pepe?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Nicolas Pepe</a> worth the price?</p>
<p>This is something I’ve been covering throughout the course of the year as Pepe continues to evolve as an attacker and as an overall threat. It’s largely been improving, but there have been some issues as well. Some frustrations.</p>
<p>For a record-signing, you are inevitably going to be expecting the world from him. Because no good fan would be caught dead expecting any less than absolutely everything.</p>
<h3>Arsenal won with Nicolas Pepe, and here is why</h3>
<p>Even with that being impossible to deliver, I am yet again here to deliver the hard facts. No more opinion. No more speculation. Just facts. Facts that prove that Nicolas Pepe is worth every bit of what we paid for him and nothing less.</p>
<p>Let’s start with fact No. 3.</p>
<h4>3. He creates from nothing</h4>
<p>There are a lot of things this Arsenal attack does right without Nicolas Pepe. No matter who is out there, the attacking build-up is always quite strong and cohesive. These players combine well, they build together, they play together.</p>
<p>The big downfall of that is if one little thing goes wrong, you lose it all. One dent in the machine and your attack falls apart.</p>
<p>You can’t rely on an attack that is so easily disrupted, and that’s what Nicolas Pepe does right. He is the only guy on this team that can create from nothing. While he can fit in with the cohesive build-up play, he can also just do it all on his own. He’s our best dribbler, arguably our best shot from wide and distant angles and all in all, our best individualized threat. He’s what we’ve not had in years. So yeah, he’s worth it for that reason alone.</p>
<p>On to No. 2.</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/2020/06/22/arsenal-3-nicolas-pepe-success/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 2. The number game </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-96267" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/06/22/arsenal-3-nicolas-pepe-success/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2223,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1192952522.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Nicolas Pepe" width="3200" height="2223" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1192952522.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1192952522-768x534.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Arsenal, Nicolas Pepe (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)</p>
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<h4>2. Second-most goals</h4>
<p>I always end up back at this fact. we brought in Nicolas Pepe to provide goals, yes? Obviously. Why else do you spend that much money on a player? You want them to bring something you didn’t already have, which I covered in point one, and you want goals, which I’ll talk about now.</p>
<p>Nicolas Pepe has seven goals and eight assists across the Premier League and Europa League. That’s 15 goal contributions, in case you’re no good at math.</p>
<p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/06/22/arsenal-3-nicolas-pepe-success/"https://fbref.com/en/players/d5dd5f1f/Pierre-Emerick-Aubameyang?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang</a> has 20 goals and one assist in the same competitions for 21 goal contributions. The only Arsenal player that can say he does more than Pepe in this department. but when you get down to the minutes they’ve played, you see something else.</p>
<p>Aubameyang is scoring or assisting every 137 minutes. Pepe? 131 minutes. Meaning that no one on this entire club is more efficient at producing goals than Nicolas Pepe. You want to talk about value? There’s no more value than that.</p>
<p>On to No. 1.</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/2020/06/22/arsenal-3-nicolas-pepe-success/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 1. Believe it </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-102267" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/06/22/arsenal-3-nicolas-pepe-success/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1092,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1250981720.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Nicolas Pepe" width="1600" height="1092" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1250981720.jpeg 1600w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1250981720-768x524.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Arsenal, Nicolas Pepe (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)</p>
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<h4>1. When all else fails</h4>
<p>This ties back into No. 3. Pepe does what no one else on this team can do, yes. He innovates and creates from nothing, yes. He scores goals, as goals as good as our best and assists among the best as well.</p>
<p>But one thing that we saw against Brighton is the most important fact in defense of Pepe’s value. Against Brighton, Arsenal’s attack wasn’t failing. They were combining beautifully. Aubameyang and Lacazette were batting the ball between each other, Saka delivered tremendous balls into the box. It’s not like anything wasn’t working. We just needed that finishing touch.</p>
<p>Pepe answered. When all else failed, it was Nicolas Pepe who stepped up and did what no one else could do.</p>
<p>This isn’t the first time this has happened either. Pepe fills in where he needs filling. If it’s creation, he creates. If it’s introducing some instability to the defense, he does so. And if it’s peeling back and scoring that crucial goal that’s eluded the team all match, then so be it, he’ll do that too.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Arsenal vs Brighton Player Ratings" data-url="https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/06/20/arsenal-vs-brighton-player-ratings-3/" 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/2020/06/22/arsenal-3-nicolas-pepe-success/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/06/20/arsenal-vs-brighton-player-ratings-3/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Arsenal vs Brighton Player Ratings </a> </div>
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<p>When all else fails, when something isn’t working, Pepe is there to fill the gap.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
