Robert Pires has revealed to The Sun that he does not personally believe that Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe is built for the physicality of the English game.
The Gunners made Pepe their most expensive player in history 18 months ago by signing him from Lille in a £72 million deal.
Since then, the 25-year-old, who earns £100,000 per week in North London, has only delivered eight goals and six assists in 44 Premier League outings.
Even this season, Pepe tends to yo-yo in and out of Mikel Arteta’s first XI for league games, only starting six of their 21 matches in this competition.
The talent is undeniably there, as Arteta himself has said on many occasions, but the output and productivity is often lacking.
And legendary Arsenal winger Pires has claimed that the Premier League simply does not suit the Ivory Coast international’s skill set.
He said: “His game doesn’t suit the intensity and demands of the Premier League. Pepe wasn’t used to it and it has been complicated for him to change his mentality, to adapt to a new way of training and to settle in a tough league. I think he is simply not cut out for English football.”
Is Pires right? Well, the statistics hardly prove him wrong.
Even if Arsenal had spent only £20 million on Pepe, eight goals and six assists in the Premier League would still represent a pretty paltry return.
Of course, the France-born attacker can’t help what other clubs spend on him, but performing under the burden of being a team’s all-time record signing is part of what makes great players great – and maybe the pressure has told on Pepe in this regard.
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