Alan Smith told Sky Sports during their live coverage of Arsenal’s League Cup defeat to Manchester City that he ‘hardly’ noticed Nicolas Pepe was playing.
The 25-year-old came on after in the 50th minute for Arsenal when he replaced the injured Gabriel Martinelli out on the flanks.
Whilst the Brazilian had an impact and was a pest for the opposition during his time on the pitch, the same cannot be said for Pepe.
During his commentary stint for Sky, Smith shared his thoughts on Pepe’s performance and how he wasn’t taking the fight to the opposition.
“Pepe comes on and you hardly notice, really, he’s been on the pitch,” said Smith. “I know it’s not been easy for Arsenal in this second half.
“But you are just looking for him to grab hold of that ball and take the fight to the opposition much more than he has done.”
Arsenal’s record transfer deals
- Nicolas Pepe
£72 million
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
£56 million
- Alexandre Lacazette
£52 million
- Thomas Partey
45 million
- Mesut Ozil
£42 million
Ever since Pepe’s big-money move to the Emirates last summer, the versatile attacker has struggled to stamp his mark on the team.
Both under Unai Emery and now Mikel Arteta, for large parts, he has struggled and that was showing last night.
The fact that Martinelli had more of an impact than him on the pitch, even though he was returning from injury, says a lot about where Pepe’s game is at.
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