Arsenal are having a brilliant season, but there is still the odd reminder within the squad of their past failings as a club.
Indeed, while most of their deadwood has now been shifted, there are a few players on the books who are from a bygone era.
One of those is certainly Nicolas Pepe.
The club record £72m signing has been nothing short of a flop at the Emirates, and he’s been loaned out to Nice this season in an attempt to help him rediscover his form.
Sadly, that hasn’t quite gone to plan for Pepe or Arsenal.
The Ivorian has hit just six goals this season, with three of those being penalties, and perhaps the most damning indictment of his performances is the fact that he’s being outperformed by another former Arsenal winger in the shape of Alexis Sanchez.
Indeed, while Pepe has six goals in Ligue 1 this season – with three of those coming from the penalty spot, Sanchez is almost in double figures in terms of his goalscoring numbers, while he also has an assist for good measure.
Now, we would say that there is no shame in being outperformed by Alexis Sanchez. After all, he was one of the world’s best players once upon a time, but since leaving Arsenal, he’s declined massively.
At both Manchester United and Inter, he looked a shadow of his former self, and the fact that he’s outdoing Pepe over in France is more of an indictment of the Ivorian than it is a testament to Sanchez’s resurgence.
Pepe was sent to Nice with the hope that he’d rediscover his scoring touch and his confidence in a league that he knows well, but he still looks like the same player we saw at Arsenal, he’s lacking confidence and quality and, quite simply, he’s not a £72m footballer.
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