The coach of Arsenal football club, Mikel Arteta has explained why the club decided to allow Nicolas Pepe to leave the club on a season-long loan to OGC Nice. According to the Spanish tactician, Arsenal sent Pepe on loan because the Ivorian footballer has not contributed enough to the club in terms of game time.
“It’s been three years and he has some good moments, some others where he hasn’t really contributed much in terms of minutes,” Mikel Arteta said. “We decided for every party it was the best decision to allow him to go. He needs to play football.”
Speaking on potential replacements for Pepe, Arteta added: “If we can implement the plan that we have we will try to do it. In that plan that [Pepe leaving] was something that could happen, now it’s a reality. We’ve been preparing for the last two months and now we will see.”
🗣 “He hasn’t really contributed that much to the team in terms of minutes, we have decided for every party it was the best decision.”
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 26, 2022
Mikel Arteta explains the reasoning behind loaning Nicolas Pepe to Nice pic.twitter.com/FnuM0RbwEZ
The 27-year-old Ivory Coast international’s loan deal with OGC Nice does not provide the Ligue 1 team the opportunity to make the transfer permanent.
Pepe, who joined Arsenal from Lille for a club-record £72 million in 2019, has two years left on his contract with The Gunners and has made 112 appearances for the Premier League side in which he scored 27 goals in all competitions.
The most expensive player in Arsenal history, Nicolas Pepe arrived but left with little of an impact. The club’s most recent hiring process was specifically tailored to meet Mikel Arteta’s desires. Hence, Pepe had to make way.
Nicolas Pepe
On loan from Premier League club Arsenal, Nicolas Pepe (born May 29, 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ligue 1 club Nice. He is a member of the national Ivory Coast team and was born in France.
With Poitiers, Pepe started his senior club career in the Championnat de France Amateur 2. At the age of 18, he joined with Angers, and in 2015, he spent a season on loan at Orléans. He joined Lille in 2017, and for the 2018–19 season, he was selected for the UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year.
Pepe joined Arsenal that summer for a then-club-record £72 million transfer fee, and in his first year, he won the FA Cup.
Pepe, an Ivorian-born French citizen, made his international debut for the Ivory Coast on November 15, 2016, against France. He was chosen for the 2017 and 2021 editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Nicolas Pepe Transfer
Île-de-Mantes-la-Jolie France is where Pepe was born. Until he was 14 years old, he began his playing career as a goalkeeper for the neighborhood team Solitaire Paris Est.
Pépé joined Angers in 2013 and played his debut year in the CFA 2 with the reserves.
Pépé was acquired by Lille on June 21, 2017, for a maximum transfer price of €10 million. Head coach Marcelo Bielsa scouted the player by studying video of every Ligue 1 game he had participated in for Angers before personally scouting him.
Pépé joined Premier League club Arsenal for a club record sum of €79 million (£72 million) on August 1, 2019, breaking Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s previous mark of €62 million. He was given the number 19 jersey when he joined Arsenal.
Pépé joined Nice of Ligue 1 on loan for the balance of the 2022–2023 campaign without a buyout option on August 25, 2022.
Nicolas Pepe Stats
Amazing winger Nicolas, also known as Nico around the team, had a very poor season at the Emirates, scoring a total of 27 goals and providing 21 assists in 112 appearances for Arsenal.
Pepe did not have much time in England, as he was unable to convince Unai Emery and Current Coach Arteta to be included in the starting lineups always. He only managed to score 16 goals and provided just 9 assists throughout 80 Premier League games.
2019-20
Games: 42
Starts: 29
Sub appearances: 13
Goals: 8
Assists: 10
Penalties scored: 2
Minutes per goal: 339.6
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 452.8
Minutes per goal or assist: 150.9
2020-21
Games: 47
Starts: 30
Sub appearances: 17
Goals: 16
Assists: 5
Penalties scored: 2
Minutes per goal: 183
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 209.2
Minutes per goal or assist: 139.4
Wife
Nicolas has always had a secluded, personal existence. While no one knew he was married, Arsenal stated in 2020 that he had missed a game because his wife was in labor.
When the pair first met is unknown officially. However, all of the couple’s closest family members and friends were present during their secret wedding ceremony, which took place in France.
Regarding her personal matters, such as her husband, Fanny is quite private. Fanny was born on October 4, 1995. The 27-year-old is currently unemployed because she is a full-time mother.
Where is Nicolas Pepe from?
Parents of Ivorian descent gave birth to Pépé in France. In November 2016, he was given a call-up to the Ivory Coast national team. On November 12, during the goalless draw away to Morocco in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying round, he was not utilized as a substitute.
He made his debut three days later in a friendly match at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens against his native France, playing the final four minutes in place of Max-Alain Gradel. The score was the same.
Pépé was a member of Michel Dussuyer’s 23-person roster for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon, but he did not compete because the Elephants lost their group.
How did Manchester United miss Signing Pepe?
Nicolas Pepe, a right winger from Lille, was reportedly on Manchester United’s radar before Arsenal acquired him from Lille for a club-record £72 million in 2019.
Pepe, who was 23 at the time, was linked to teams like Sevilla and Southampton in the summer of 2019. According to ESPN, Saints had a £12.5 million offer rejected.
In 43 games for Lille, Pepe not only had eight assists but also scored 18 goals. Before he attracted the attention of major European teams, he also had three goals in nine appearances for Cote D’Ivoire as at then.
Style Of Play
Pépé has a reputation for being a quick and skilled attacking winger who is at home on either flank, but typically plays on the right wing cutting onto his left foot. Former Lille head coach Marcelo Bielsa also convinced Pépé to switch from wide positions to play as a striker on either the inside or central channel.
