How Arsenal used Barcelona-style negotiation tactics on Pepe
Robin Bairner
- 29 Aug 2022 13:54 BST
- 4 min read
Arsenal attacker Nicolas Pepe was so desperate to leave the club on loan for Nice, he took a 25% pay cut to move to the Ligue 1 side.
The Athletic reports that the Gunners negotiated a salary cut with the winger that allowed him to make the transfer after an unsuccessful stint at the Emirate Stadium.
Big things were expected of Pepe when he arrived at the club from Lille in the summer of 2019, which justified his huge £72 million (€79m) transfer fee and his estimated wage of £10m per year.
His performance on the pitch did not realise this, though. He contributed only 27 goals in 112 appearances for the Gunners and steadily fell out of the picture under Mikel Arteta.
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Arsenal disappointment
Given only limited game time last season, Pepe’s desire was to leave to the club this summer and only after negotiating hard with Arsenal was he able to do so.
The Gunners are contributing 25% of his £10m-per-year salary while he is at Nice, with the French club footing half of the bill. The other 25% of his wages, Pepe is forgoing so he can get back to playing regularly.
Presumably, Arsenal were not willing to foot his wage during the time he was away from the club, while it would not have been possible for Nice to pay such a large sum.
This represents a coup for the Gunners, who will be delighted to save upon the majority of Pepe’s wage given how little he produced for them.
Their tactics to get him to exit the club, meanwhile, echo those that Barcelona have employed in the summer transfer window to offload fringe players. The Catalans have, under financial pressure, restricted their wage bill by negotiating the salaries of players down often under some kind of duress.
In Pepe’s case, he was given the opportunity to play football by accepting a 25% pay cut and he felt it was worth the price.
Pepe at Nice
He made his debut on Sunday against Marseille in the Derby de la Mediterranee but it proved to be an unhappy reintroduction in France. OM claimed a 3-0 victory, with his fellow Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares getting his third goal for the club after being set up by Matteo Guendouzi. Another former Gooner, Alexis Sanchez, scored twice in the game.
He is lacking a bit of rhythm, intensity in his placements, his pressing and in his ball recovery
- Lucien Favre“He hasn’t played for a long time in England. He has done the pre-season with Arsenal, but he hasn’t played any matches. He is lacking a bit of rhythm, intensity in his placements, his pressing and in his ball recovery, because everyone has to do that,” head coach Lucien Favre said on Pepe at the end of the match.
“There aren’t any exceptions. If one or two players don’t do the work, the whole team is in trouble. Everyone has to do it at the same time, everyone has to defend to recover the ball.”
Nice have made a slow start to the Ligue 1 season, having taken only two points in four matches, and they are hopeful that if Pepe can rediscover his Lille best, he can fire them up the table.
