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Home > Arsenal > Newcastle United Reportedly Considering Move for Out-of-Favour Arsenal Winger

Newcastle United Reportedly Considering Move for Out-of-Favour Arsenal Winger

Nicolas Pepe, Arsenal, West Ham, Newcastle United, sale

According to latest reports, Newcastle United are keeping tabs on Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe. The Ivory Coast international is being considered as an option for Eddie Howe’s side with the player expected to leave the Emirates Stadium in this transfer window.

Alexandre Lacazette has already left the club while Gabriel Jesus has been signed from Manchester City as a replacement. Nicolas Pepe has not lived up to his enormous £72 million price tag when Arsenal convinced him to join them from LOSC Lille three years ago.

Nicolas Pepe, Newcastle United
Photo by SVEIN OVE EKORNESVAG/NTB/AFP via Getty Images

Nevertheless, he has still managed 48 goals contributions in 112 appearances (stats via transfermarkt). He has been linked with a move to Spanish side Sevilla as well after he lost his place in the Arsenal squad to Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe.

According to Give Me Sport (via HITC), Nicolas Pepe has been shortlisted by Newcastle United as one of the potential summer targets. The Toons consider the Ivory Coast international as an ‘attainable’ target. Moreover, Arsenal have deemed the forward as surplus and are ready to part ways with the player.

Player Career

With Nicolas Pepe notching up 22 goals in 38 league games during his last season at Lille (stats via transfermarkt), there was certainly a lot of excitement when he signed for Arsenal. Only Kylian Mbappe scored more than the Ivorian in Ligue 1 that season. Even more impressive was that the 27-year-old stood second in the assists table in that 2018-19 season.

Being able to rank so highly in both areas shows his special capability of scoring and creating simultaneously, perhaps reminding many Gunners of Dennis Bergkamp in that regard. But in his first 18 months at the Emirates, Pepe averaged 0.8 shots on target per 90 minutes in the Premier League games; exactly half of the 1.6 shots he registered on target per 90 minutes in Ligue 1 (as per JustArsenal.com).

The Ivorian arrived at Arsenal solely as a right-sided forward who liked to roam away from the touchline and drift into spaces between the lines or in behind the defence. But it looked like he needed to upgrade his game to PL standards. He has also been occasionally used on the left side of their attack.

Pepe shows flashes of brilliance, particularly in terms of close control to beat an opponent, but he needs to become more consistent with his dribbling. He has the ability to beat most defenders, but struggles when he is closed down quickly, especially when his opponent takes a physical approach.

Many fans are judging Nicolas Pepe mainly because of the £72m price tag that accompanies him. It’s almost inevitable that the fans’ expectations were going to be unrealistically high, but it’s hard to dispute that the winger himself has found it difficult to replicate his Lille form at Arsenal.

Verdict

Nicolas Pepe could consider a move to another Premier League club, with Newcastle United reportedly keeping an eye on the developments at Arsenal concerning the winger. He has a contract with the Gunners until 2024. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is credited with improving several young players, but Pepe doesn’t fall in that bracket.

Fans were certainly expecting more from Nicolas Pepe, kind of a similar return from his Ligue 1 days. The fact that he didn’t produce those figures at the North London side after such a massive investment seemed to go some way in earning him the label of a flop, with some voicing their preference for Wilfried Zaha, who incidentally would have cost £80m.

Nicolas Pepe
Photo by Tim Keeton – Pool/Getty Images

With the emergence of Bukayo Saka, Pepe’s game time on the right has become increasingly limited. And now with Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli delivering goals from the left, it’s hard to see how the 27-year-old forward can fit in unless there is an injury.

The Premier League has already seen quite a few examples of how quickly wingers can deteriorate, with players such as Memphis Depay, Juan Cuadrado and Angel di Maria leaving to other leagues after a few seasons.

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A move to Tyneside would give him the required platform to sparkle – to reinvent his career. Pepe remains an immensely gifted player who hasn’t had the environment that he needed to truly flourish. The systems that have been employed didn’t always suit his game and neither has the change in personnel helped his cause.

Finally, the Ivort Coast international didn’t choose the price that Arsenal paid for him, so why keep beating him with it. Nicolas Pepe, at his best, is clearly worth a whole lot more than what he has displayed at Arsenal. The Gunners smashed their club-record transfer fee to get him for a reason. But he needs the stage to shine, and the Emirates is currently not the right place for him.

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