Jamie Carragher has told Monday Night Football that he doesn’t believe Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe will ever be good enough for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Arsenal broke their club record to sign Pepe from Lille two years ago, but he has never quite been able to hold down a position in their first-team.
The Ivorian has shown flashes of quality during his time in North London, but question marks remain over his consistency.
Arteta has already publicly called out Pepe during his time in charge, and there is a feeling that the next few months could be decisive for his Arsenal career.
Pepe actually started 2021 in good form, after starting down the left.
But he has gradually fallen out of favour again and put in an awful display for Arsenal in their 3-0 defeat to Liverpool.
Carragher now feels that Arsenal may simply have to give up on Pepe, as he won’t ever make it for them.
“Nicolas Pepe, the thing with him is not so much age, he’s just not good enough and he’s never going to be good enough,” the Sky pundit said.
Carragher’s analysis may look harsh, but Pepe has had long enough to adapt now to be showing more.
In truth, the likes of Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka are now making far more impact than he has ever been able to in advanced areas.
And it may be time for Arsenal to cut their losses on the winger in the summer, and write him off as a bad purchase.
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