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9/10 rating, 11 ground duels won: Emery signing really stepped up for Arsenal last night
Arsenal smashed five past Sunderland in the Carabao Cup last night and although Eddie Nkatiah’s hat-trick stole the show, Nicolas Pepe was arguably the most impressive player on the pitch.
The Ivorian, signed by Unai Emery for a club-record £72 million in 2019 (), hasn’t quite delivered. A lot was expected of Pepe when he first arrived, but after 100 Arsenal appearances, it has to be said that he hasn’t lived up to his price tag.
However, Pepe showed what he can do when he’s in the mood last night. He had a pretty underwhelming first half despite scoring the goal, but he really stepped up after the break.
Here’s a look at the Ivorian’s stats against Sunderland last night…
Nicolas Pepe stats vs Sunderland
The highlight of Pepe’s performance last night was his goal and his two impressive assists. However, he did a lot more than that in his 90 minutes on the pitch.
The 26-year-old had 73 touches of the ball and completed 38 of his 45 attempted passes yesterday. He created three chances and completed five of his eight attempted dribbles, which is not a bad return at all. ()
Defensively, Pepe helped Cedric out. The Ivorian won 11 ground duels, made three tackles and was dribbled past just once in the entire game. He was given a 9/10 rating by , only Nketiah was rated higher thanks to his treble.
The Ivorian hasn’t done enough
Pepe made his 100th appearance for Arsenal in all competitions last night. He has scored 26 goals and has provided 20 assists so far. That is not a great return at all, especially considering his mammoth price tag.
Some Arsenal fans will argue that Pepe hasn’t quite been given enough chances. The ex-Lille man has started just 67 out of the 100 games he has played, and the most number of consecutive games he has started under Mikel Arteta in the Premier League is four, which has certainly not helped him.
However, for a player who cost so much money, Pepe has to deliver more. He’s now the second-choice right-winger at Arsenal behind Bukayo Saka and it’s highly unlikely that he’ll ever displace the Englishman.
That casts a huge shadow of doubt over his future and it won’t be a surprise to see him get sold in one of the next two transfer windows.
