When Arsenal smashed their transfer record to spend £72 million on Nicolas Pepe, Arsenal fans envisioned a dazzling debut season for the new signing.
It didn’t quite happen like that. Pepe had a slow start, and at times was outperformed by young star Bukayo Saka.
Pepe has four Premier League goals and six assists. It’s a decent return, but not quite what fans had in mind.
With the season restarting, Pepe has the chance to redefine his debut campaign.
He has had more time to settle off the pitch, and in recent weeks, on the training field to adjust to new boss Mikel Arteta’s methods.
This can all help, and Pepe should be motivated to prove his doubters wrong.
Arsenal still have an outside chance of securing Champions League football, and they will need Pepe to hit top gear for them to do it.
That would ruin the narrative of Pepe struggling. He can change perceptions, and set himself up for a successful 2020/21.
The best is yet to come from Pepe and those writing him off could end up looking silly. It’s just a matter of whether he can kick on over the next few weeks, or if it will take into next season for him to really get firing.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
