Nicolas Pepe: 2019/20 Performances

[KrissKringle]

I think hitting the gym and building some muscle and power will do him good this summer heading into next season.

Goretzka spent the free time during the quarantine to get swole. Pepe didn't.
He's not someone who will go after it like that. Lacks mental strength.

 

[Moah]

Goretzka spent the free time during the quarantine to get swole. Pepe didn't.
He's not someone who will go after it like that. Lacks mental strength.

You just picked a single player from the top 5 leagues who managed to do that and you beat Pepe with it, cmon that's completely unfair.

Yes, none of the three managers couldn't get the best out of him but two of them couldn't stay six months each and the one who has any idea about what he is doing is praising his improvement.

He has been poor these past games but lets wait till next season to judge.

 

[Garrincha]

Goretzka spent the free time during the quarantine to get swole. Pepe didn't.
He's not someone who will go after it like that. Lacks mental strength.

Pepe is a pretty tall wide player must be 6'0 - 6'1. Filling out might not be the best for his style & cardio. If moving central might be a plan the club look at but not mid season.

 

[sdotzdot]

People are focusing on his (rare) bits of decent play, rather than the rest of his entire game which is dire. I honestly don’t know what people are seeing, another season to see if he’s good enough is a complete waste of time.

He is a terrible footballer and has no idea what to do with the ball, it’s shocking. He’s a late bloomer to professional football and it shows.

I’d be willing to give him the chance if it looked like he was actually trying to make things happen to make up for the fact he’s just a bad footballer, but he hides so much. Mentally weak (in regards to on the pitch).

We won’t sell him unfortunately because we aren’t ruthless enough to accept our losses but I wouldn’t hold my breath for anything different next season.

 

[KrissKringle]

You just picked a single player from the top 5 leagues who managed to do that and you beat Pepe with it, cmon that's completely unfair.

How is it unfair?
Goretzka didn't even have to put on mass, but he did it anyway so he can become a more dominant midfielder.

Pepe is in his first season in the toughest league where the game is played at a high intensity. As a professional, he should have done something in all that free time in order to not be bullied by defenders or the club could have instructed him on what to do to up his game.

Traore has been big since he was a kid, but he still puts in a ton of work and now he's harassing defenders left and right either with speed or with physicality.

 

[Shalmaneser V]

Pepe is a pretty tall wide player must be 6'0 - 6'1. Filling out might not be the best for his style & cardio. If moving central might be a plan the club look at but not mid season.

He doesn’t need to fill out too much. Just add a few pounds of muscle and work on his power. It will stand him in good stead in the premier league. He’s a bit too lightweight at the moment. Get’s pushed off the ball to easily.

 

[Macho]

Lol you man can cry about Pepe all you like he’s here next season.

 

[lomekian]

Look at Wilf going at players. It's ridiculous how he's putting them on their asses so effortlessly.
I get dizzy watching these clips, so the players dealing with him must have a nightmare. In a more tactical setup, where he might have to wait a bit for the striker to get in the box, he can toy with a defender for a few seconds before passing.

Now, look at Pepe when he's taking his man on. It's not the same level of skill. He's all over the place and nowhere near as efficient.
He's getting lost in his own dribbles, ffs.

There is no doubt that Zaha is the more impactful player at present, but Palace were holding out for £80m lump sum (and quite right from their perspective because he's their most important player), whereas the Pepe deal was so high because we got to defer more in installments than is usually the case.

I'd also say Pepe still has a higher ceiling if he can reach it, because he has more variety to his skillset. Still don't know why he's not taking corners anymore when they were looking really dangerous on a consistent basis

 

[lomekian]

How is it unfair?
Goretzka didn't even have to put on mass, but he did it anyway so he can become a more dominant midfielder.

Pepe is in his first season in the toughest league where the game is played at a high intensity. As a professional, he should have done something in all that free time in order to not be bullied by defenders or the club could have instructed him on what to do to up his game.

Traore has been big since he was a kid, but he still puts in a ton of work and now he's harassing defenders left and right either with speed or with physicality.

Traore was just as quick and strong when he stunk things out at his previous British clubs. His improvement is due to coaching.

I think we can all agree that Pepe's on pitch mentality isn't where it needs to be. If Arteta can't unlock that next season, it will be time to cut our losses, but with Pepe's variety of skillset, if he can be imbued with a better mentality, better fitness levels and greater tactical intelligence, he could easily be a 15 g 15 assist guy. Its a big ask to improve all those areas of course, but he's a guy you give a second season too because of the variety to his skillset

 

[KrissKringle]

I'd also say Pepe still has a higher ceiling if he can reach it, because he has more variety to his skillset.

I've seen this higher ceiling thing here quite a few times, but I just don't see it.
He's one footed, therefore closing him on his good one will annihilate his threat, gets easily bullied and lacks determination. On top of that, his decision making leaves a lot to be desired.

He could be more dangerous in a more direct team where they don't stretch the wingers to the sidelines, but overall this season he's been a passenger here.
I haven't seen one game where I could say "Now that's a MOTM performance!"

 

[GeorgiaGunner]

People are focusing on his (rare) bits of decent play, rather than the rest of his entire game which is dire. I honestly don’t know what people are seeing, another season to see if he’s good enough is a complete waste of time.

He is a terrible footballer and has no idea what to do with the ball, it’s shocking. He’s a late bloomer to professional football and it shows.

I’d be willing to give him the chance if it looked like he was actually trying to make things happen to make up for the fact he’s just a bad footballer, but he hides so much. Mentally weak (in regards to on the pitch).

We won’t sell him unfortunately because we aren’t ruthless enough to accept our losses but I wouldn’t hold my breath for anything different next season.

We’d also only get ~25mm if we sold this summer.

 

[lomekian]

I've seen this higher ceiling thing here quite a few times, but I just don't see it.
He's one footed, therefore closing him on his good one will annihilate his threat, gets easily bullied and lacks determination. On top of that, his decision making leaves a lot to be desired.

He could be more dangerous in a more direct team where they don't stretch the wingers to the sidelines, but overall this season he's been a passenger here.
I haven't seen one game where I could say "Now that's a MOTM performance!"

Higher ceiling because he has more variety, if he can find a way to put it together. He's shown he can score from range and close in. He's shown he's an excellent set piece taker. At Lille he showed a great ability for using the channels. On the rare occasions he crosses the ball he has good delivery. He's an excellent finisher on his left.

At the moment he can't cope with the intensity of the EPL and his decision making is poor. He's the kind of guy who might do nothing next year and be sold at a £40m loss, or if he can put his game together with the same clarity of approach he had in Ligue 1, he could put up Pires numbers.

Personally I like Zaha a lot, but I think Pepe has the capacity to be more effective in ball dominating team, which is ultimately what Arteta is aspiring towards. Zaha would be better in our current team, but I very much doubt that is what Arteta is aiming for

 

[AbouCuéllar]

but I think Pepe has the capacity to be more effective in ball dominating team

What makes you think that?

His success came in a counter-attacking set-up at Lille, and nothing we have seen at Arsenal suggests he is a good player associating and combining with his teammates in short spaces.

Sure, having more possession in the opponent's half and getting him the ball closer to the goal more often will improve his output, but I don't really see anything about this player that suggests he will be the top winger we need to aspire to. Think it's really about how much loss we will take on him and how much he will set us back in respect to signing or developing that top winger that we need, at this point.

The latter part is really what worries me. In this post-covid world it's hard to imagine getting much return on investment on him (with a decent season next he'll be 26, not exactly the type of player Ligue 1 sides will look to buy for a decent fee, and he'll have to really hit some heights to be of interest to prem sides), so it's best to imagine him as a likely sunk cost, but 2-3 years of him being seen as the main man in that position and needing to be given chances to come good on his investment while taking away development time from other players or potential talented young signings is the least palatable part for me.

 

[14Henry]

Higher ceiling

That's basically saying hes crap now but I think he has the potential to be less crap in the future.

This phrase must be the latest craze. Pepe is 25. If he isnt at the top of his game now he never will be. New league not an excuse. He hasnt shown anything other than a second rate cut in and shoot. He doesnt beat a defender on the outside or on the inside. Actually on counter attacks he slows the whole thing down which is the complete opposite of what a counter attack is about.

He doesnt run past players. He runs, slows, turns, turns again, then passes.

He is frustrating and I dont know what we seen in him but he hasnt shown anything that suggest. Hes a little raw but theres something there. If he was 21/22 you could over look it but hes at his peak age. He should be showing a lot more.

 

[Macho]

I've seen this higher ceiling thing here quite a few times, but I just don't see it.
He's one footed, therefore closing him on his good one will annihilate his threat, gets easily bullied and lacks determination. On top of that, his decision making leaves a lot to be desired.

He could be more dangerous in a more direct team where they don't stretch the wingers to the sidelines, but overall this season he's been a passenger here.
I haven't seen one game where I could say "Now that's a MOTM performance!"

He’s one of the best strikers of the ball in the team
He can dribble
He’s got pace

His shortcomings are all mostly coachable things. We’ve seen worse players here or elsewhere become amazing I’m not sure why people are pretending that players can’t improve or haven’t had a slow first season before. We have sh*t players quietly sitting here for years till this day, I can’t see why you guys are so upset.

 

[KrissKringle]

He’s one of the best strikers of the ball in the team
He can dribble
He’s got pace

It doesn't matter, tbh, because even with those traits he's easily dealt with. That's what pisses me off.
He's supposed to be that player that creates chances, dribbles or cuts inside to curl it with his left peg, but he rarely does that.

 

[Monstar-Gunn4r]

He's up against Mendy, if he can't do it tonight he just cannot do it. Mendy's favourite things are bombing forward at the wrong times, losing the ball in attack and not getting back in to position. Hes also not vry good at defending.

Also Pepe doesn't have much pace, hes not slow but hes not quick, thats not debatable, people can shut their eyes and stick their fingers in their ears about his inability to dribble but you can either run quick or not. Saying he has pace means he can burn defenders by running, he hasn't been able to burn any defender for pace this year, and more than a few of them were slow.

 

[Hunta]

He's up against Mendy, if he can't do it tonight he just cannot do it. Mendy's favourite things are bombing forward at the wrong times, losing the ball in attack and not getting back in to position. Hes also not vry good at defending.

Also Pepe doesn't have much pace, hes not slow but hes not quick, thats not debatable, people can shut their eyes and stick their fingers in their ears about his inability to dribble but you can either run quick or not. Saying he has pace means he can burn defenders by running, he hasn't been able to burn any defender for pace this year, and more than a few of them were slow.

Doubt he’ll have much of the ball to do anything.

 

[lomekian]

What makes you think that?

His success came in a counter-attacking set-up at Lille, and nothing we have seen at Arsenal suggests he is a good player associating and combining with his teammates in short spaces.

Sure, having more possession in the opponent's half and getting him the ball closer to the goal more often will improve his output, but I don't really see anything about this player that suggests he will be the top winger we need to aspire to. Think it's really about how much loss we will take on him and how much he will set us back in respect to signing or developing that top winger that we need, at this point.

The latter part is really what worries me. In this post-covid world it's hard to imagine getting much return on investment on him (with a decent season next he'll be 26, not exactly the type of player Ligue 1 sides will look to buy for a decent fee, and he'll have to really hit some heights to be of interest to prem sides), so it's best to imagine him as a likely sunk cost, but 2-3 years of him being seen as the main man in that position and needing to be given chances to come good on his investment while taking away development time from other players or potential talented young signings is the least palatable part for me.

Its quite simple. Zaha is much much less effective against deep defenses who play a low block than pushed up ones, because his game is predicated on using pace and trickery to attack space. Apart from his lack of experience, its one reason why he struggled at Utd.

Pepe, despite his success at Lille, is a better passer, crosser and shooter from range, so he has more non dribbling tools that could be effective against a deeper block. Of course, that's depending on him upping the speed and intensity with which he plays, which at this stage is a significant question mark

 

[Monstar-Gunn4r]

Its quite simple. Zaha is much much less effective against deep defenses who play a low block than pushed up ones, because his game is predicated on using pace and trickery to attack space. Apart from his lack of experience, its one reason why he struggled at Utd.

Pepe, despite his success at Lille, is a better passer, crosser and shooter from range, so he has more non dribbling tools that could be effective against a deeper block. Of course, that's depending on him upping the speed and intensity with which he plays, which at this stage is a significant question mark

I actually genuinely think Pepe is one of the worst passers I've seen at Arsenal. This is only based on his performances while at Arsenal, as I hadn't watched him before he came here. I'm assuming people watched him a lot of before he came here because he fails to make the most basic of passes regularly nevermind anything incisive or creative in his time here. I also think Pepe is useless if he can't play against a team pushed up because if he can;t do that then we're effectively playing with 10 men on the pitch... how in the fk do you get down the pitch and control the game if one of your players can't contribute until you're in the final third.

Zaha was relatively young at Utd and expected to carry the entire creative output of the team and was under the absoloute worst managers to develop as a player, (which he is successfully doing at Palace).