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Raphinha form highlights how much Arsenal overpaid for Nicolas Pepe
Leeds United did plenty of business over the summer transfer window to get the club prepared for the Premier League.
So far it is hard to look past flying winger Raphinha as the most impressive of the bunch.
The Brazilian has shown scintillating form since his arrival at Elland Road and at a reported fee of just £17 million, is an undoubted bargain arrival.
It is sublime form that must have Arsenal fans feeling sick.
Isn’t this what the Gunners were expecting from Nicolas Pepe?
The Ivorian, like Raphinha, arrived from Ligue 1 with a reputation as an exciting left-footed right-winger who carried a significant goal threat.
The one major difference between the two was the price-tag. Whilst Raphinha was a bargain arrival from Nice in 2020, Arsenal paid a for Pepe a year previously.
Pepe, who incidentally played under Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa at Lille, has not had anything like the impact Raphinha has in a shorter space of time in English football.
Those direct runs, dangerous crosses and sumptuous long-range strikes were what Arsenal fans expected for £72 million. If they had just spent a fraction of it they could have got an improved model in the Leeds star.
Leeds, and their director of football Victor Orta, will be very proud of their work. Arsenal fans will just be hoping that Pepe can find the form which justifies his price-tag in the coming weeks and months.