Pepe benched by Arteta? Why Arsenal's record signing could be on his way out in January
Stefan Bienkowski
- 7 Dec 2021 20:38 GMT
- 7 min read
One of the most intriguing things about Arsenal’s turnaround in form is that it has been done with nearly no input from the club’s record signing.
Mikel Arteta’s side have now marched up to seventh place in the Premier League but Nicolas Pepe has only started four of those matches and didn’t feature at all in seven of them.
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For a winger that once cost the club no less than £72 million, that’s not only a worrying state of affairs but also a downright threat to his future at the club.
While Pepe has struggled for a leading role at the club for some time, is he now reaching the point that he may find himself in the bargain bin come January?
Struggling for relevance this season
Unfortunately for Pepe, his own personal form and factors outside of his control have managed to conspire against him and force him out of Arteta’s side.
Perhaps the most obvious factor is Pepe’s own performances on the pitch for the London club over the past 12 months. Last season the Ivory Coast international managed just 16 goals and five assists in 47 appearances and this time around he’s perhaps doing even worse, with just one goal and three assists in nine appearances.
Another reason for Pepe’s fall in stature at the club is down to Arteta’s shift to a 4-4-2 formation, which has meant few spots for wide attacking players like the former Lille star.
This was most apparent in Monday’s 2-1 defeat to Everton, when Arteta opted to bring on a striker in Edward Nketiah rather than Pepe, who is primarily a winger.
When asked about his decision to pick one over the other after the match, the Arsenal manager said: "He [Nketiah] does everything in training what you saw him do in 25 minutes here. Every single day. That’s why I picked him."
In this new system Arteta prefers a front two of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette and has, crucially, opted for Bukayo Saka on the right wing whenever possible, which is where Pepe would have perhaps played before.
It’s that little tactical shift which now pits Pepe against Saka for that right wing role for the remainder of the season and one that the former Ligue 1 star will surely lose against a player many consider to be Arsenal's most promising talent.
Whether that means Pepe will end up on the transfer list or be redeployed elsewhere remains to be seen, but right now things aren’t looking too good for Arsenal’s most expensive player ever.
