Arsenal's Pepe problem: Record signing's confidence is shot

The Ivorian winger should start against Standard Liege on Thursday given he is presently struggling to adapt to Premier League football

“It’s not been easy, I must tell the truth.”

Those were the words of Nicolas Pepe shortly after full-time at Old Trafford on Monday night, as he spoke to the French media about his start to life in the Premier League.

Pepe’s arrival at the Emirates in the summer caused a tremor of excitement not seen in north London since Mesut Ozil joined the Gunners from Real Madrid in 2013.

But now, just two months on, there are some already questioning whether Arsenal have overspent by bringing in the Ivory Coast international from Lille for £72 million ($88m).

"His body language isn’t great,” said Roy Keane, following Tuesday’s 1-1 draw against Manchester United. “We make excuses for players a lot, like it takes time to settle into a club. But for the money they’ve paid, Pepe needs to do a lot more.

"His poor work-rate, his lack of quality and end product... And again, his body language, he doesn’t seem up for the fight."

Pepe was replaced by Reiss Nelson with 20 minutes remaining at Old Trafford following a hugely disappointing display.

He started on the right of a front three spearheaded by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with 18-year-old Bukayo Saka on the left.

And while Saka only added to his growing reputation with a fine performance – and one that saw him set up Aubameyang for Arsenal’s second-half equaliser – Pepe struggled to make any sort of impact on the contest.

“Arsenal look like they have unearthed a gem in Saka,” Martin Keown enthused afterwards. “He looked like the £72m winger on show.”

Pepe’s struggles at Old Trafford were there for all to see. There was a hope that the penalty he scored against Aston Villa a week earlier would give him the confidence boost he needed to kick on, but that did not look the case in the brutal Manchester rain.

Opta stats show that Pepe attempted just two dribbles during Tuesday’s draw. That’s eight fewer than the 10 he tried on his full Premier League debut at Anfield in August, when he caused the Liverpool defence so many problems.

Prior to the game against United, the fewest dribbles Pepe had attempted in a Premier League fixture was five, during the north London derby.

Against Burnley, he attempted six, yet he only played for 45 minutes, having been brought on at half-time.

Pepe looks like a player desperately searching for some confidence. When he got on the ball at Old Trafford he looked to get rid of it, rather than take players on.

It was a clear sign of where his head is right now.

"My confidence must come back,” Pepe admitted. "My stats have not been good enough or my usual performances. It is not the same as Lille or the Liverpool game earlier in the season.”

And that’s why he should start on Thursday night when Arsenal take on Standard Liege in the Europa League

Ideally, Unai Emery would like to give the majority of his big-hitters the night off – just as he did in the first group-stage game last month, when his side claimed an impressive 3-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Pepe was on the bench that night in Germany, with Saka and Nelson starting either side of Aubameyang. But given the form Saka is in right now, it would be much more beneficial for Emery to save the teenager for Bournemouth on Sunday and give Pepe more playing time.

Obviously, this is a big period of adjustment for the former Lille star. The quicker he acclimatises to his new surroundings, the better it will be for Arsenal.

There is no doubting his quality. We saw it last season when he scored 23 times for Lille and we saw it in flashes during his first few games for the Gunners at the start of the current campaign.

His confidence has clearly nosedived since then, but one good game could be all it takes to get his season going and he is adamant that Arsenal fans will soon start to see him at his best.

“I am not very worried,” said the winger. “People may be worried about my statistics, but I am not.

"I have to keep working, as the level here is different and so is the language. It is a new league for me and I must adapt quickly.”

There is no doubt that the big jump in quality from France to England has been difficult for Pepe. That’s why it’s so important for him to keep playing regular football.

It also must be noted that he arrived at the end of pre-season. He flew to London straight from his holiday in the United States to sign for Arsenal in the final week of the window and so started the season way behind most of his team-mates in terms of fitness.

He’s been playing catch-up ever since, but Arsenal can’t afford for him to take too much longer to get up to speed because they desperately need the burden of carrying the attack to be taken off Aubameyang.

The Gabon international is in scintillating form. His goal at Old Trafford saw him become the first Arsenal player to score as many as seven goals in the first seven games of a season since Dennis Bergkamp in 1997-98. He now has struck 14 times in his last 14 Premier League starts.

So far this season he has scored the winning goal in each of Arsenal’s three league victories and he also hit the equaliser against both Spurs and United, while netting both in the 2-2 draw with Watford at Vicarage Road.

No other team has been as reliant on a single player as Arsenal have been on Aubameyang this term, with Alexandre Lacazette’s injury-plagued start to the campaign only exacerbating the dependency.

Pepe was brought in to assist Arsenal’s two star strikers, but as of yet he has been unable to do that and the pressure for the 24-year-old to justify his lofty price tag is increasing by the week.

Emery called for calm after the draw at Old Trafford, however, and urged supporters not to expect too much too soon.

“We have to have patience with him,” said the Spaniard. “He now knows how difficult the Premier League is and how difficult it is against teams like Manchester United.”

“He needs minutes and confidence,” Emery added.

And those minutes need to come on Thursday night against Standard Liege. For Arsenal’s sake, and for Pepe’s.