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Nicolas Pepe: The Nutmeg Express!

What would you do with Pepe?

  • Keep him for the foreseeable future

  • Give him one more season to prove himself

  • Sell if you can get a significant fee, keep otherwise

  • Sell at any price


Results are only viewable after voting.
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Trilly

Hates A-M, Saka, Arteta and You
Trusted ⭐

Country: England
The numbers aren't always going to tell you the full story. He doesn't pass the eye test in comparison to those players and I shouldn't have to tell you this.

Decision making and balance just aren't on the same level. He'll have flashes every now and then, but you can rarely say that Pepe had a good game from start to finish.
You would expect poor decision making to lead to him having a worse pass completion % or maybe a lower chances created number as he's picking out poor passes but he didn't. His poor balance should lead to him having poor dribble stats but he doesnt.

These things eye test things that he's failing at should have some kind of tangible negative impact somewhere right? If there's no evidence to prove that these things are failing him then maybe they just don't matter and he simply doesn't match your ideals.
 

gunner4lyfe

Established Member
Wouldn't mind if he starts today. I want him playing when the team is flowing to see how her performs. He's creating chances that are not being taken and getting in some shooting positions (needs to seriously work on it though because it's a good weapon to have).
 

Moah

Well-Known Member
The numbers aren't always going to tell you the full story. He doesn't pass the eye test in comparison to those players and I shouldn't have to tell you this.

Decision making and balance just aren't on the same level. He'll have flashes every now and then, but you can rarely say that Pepe had a good game from start to finish.
Would you bench a prolific striker/winger for not passing the eye test? No. So that argument makes no sense.
 

GeorgiaGunner

#FreeClaude
Literally just showed you the numbers. They're getting a greater number of higher quality chances than him. That's literally the only difference, the numbers are right there.

In terms of what he contributes to the team (dribbles, pass accuracy, crosses and chances created) he performs on a similar level to him.
I'm glad we have our very own Mo Salah on the right wing – I wasn't aware.
 

GeorgiaGunner

#FreeClaude
The numbers aren't always going to tell you the full story. He doesn't pass the eye test in comparison to those players and I shouldn't have to tell you this.

Decision making and balance just aren't on the same level. He'll have flashes every now and then, but you can rarely say that Pepe had a good game from start to finish.
Numbers work just fine too. Salah has averaged 23+ goals a season in the PL and is on pace for 26 this year. Pepe scored 5 last year and this season looks like more of the same.

EDIT:
https://www.myfootballfacts.com/premier-league/all-time-premier-league/best-premier-league-strikers/

There's some noise in the data (e.g. what part of career was spent on PL) but very interesting list.
 

Sweet'n'Soulful

Yet another banned account of Jury
Man I watch a lot of Salah (for FPL reasons) and he'd be hammered at Arsenal.:lol: You can see he doesn't have that European academy polish to his game but it doesn't really matter.

I kind of anticipated your argument too and so I included every way you can lose the ball: pass accuracy, dribble success, cross accuracy and shooting accuracy. So yeah it's all in the head really, silly things like a players's gait can be used against them so easily. I remember before Sterling exploded the way he ran was seriously used to bash him.:lol:
We can over analyse stuff sometimes. Put it this way, if you had the choice to swap Pepe for any of those other wingers, would you? I think you would and you’d be right to.
 

Moah

Well-Known Member
Is Pepe a prolific striker/winger? No. So, my argument makes perfect sense considering he hasn't worked out under 3 managers.
I didn't mean to say he was prolific but the eye test is not a metric to judge anyone. He's numbers aren't that bad compared to the best in the league so the eye test argument doesn't hold up.
 

SingmeasongSong

Right Sometimes
You would expect poor decision making to lead to him having a worse pass completion % or maybe a lower chances created number as he's picking out poor passes but he didn't. His poor balance should lead to him having poor dribble stats but he doesnt.

These things eye test things that he's failing at should have some kind of tangible negative impact somewhere right? If there's no evidence to prove that these things are failing him then maybe they just don't matter and he simply doesn't match your ideals.

I've lost a lot of love for Pepe over the course of this season, but it seems so awkward to me that people single him out (for the fee yes, but it's not just that) in that he doesn't play well and isn't intelligent enough or whatever.

Pepe imo has been the best attacking player in our team many many times last season and also in some games this season despite not getting a long string of games, whilst admittedly, he had pretty bad days as well.

Also, being the best in a dreadful team at times doesn't mean you've been doing great, but still, the point holds true.

If all, I could say that, in many games where Pepe was rather one of the best player on the pitch but we did not play good overall, he showed that he isn't capable of doing things on his own.
That's a valid criticism, but I no longer expect him to do so, to be honest, very very few players do - maybe KDB, Zaha, Grealish, Mane, Salah..

Think Pepe could be very good, when there's a free flowing football all around him, which means a much better RB, a much better partner such as Buendia for Partey, a better LW..

But on the eye test, that guys like to talk about on here, Aubameyang is levels below Pepe in linkup play. Auba scores goals, at least he's been doing until the end of last season, but boy do we pay for it by playing him as a LW.

Put an Alexis type of player on for Auba, irregardess of form and our football goes up by several levels.
 

Monstar-Gunn4r

Established Member
His stats last year for goal contribution (assitss and goals) in the premiership are about the same as Mhiki's seasons here except the minutes difference... Pepe had much more time.

I suppose he has had an absolute colossal season so far getting 1 goal from play and also contributing with a headbutt.

Statistically Willian has a better return per minute with goal contribution, and he doesn't lose the ball the majority of the time he gets.
 

gunner4lyfe

Established Member
Wouldn't mind if he starts today. I want him playing when the team is flowing to see how her performs. He's creating chances that are not being taken and getting in some shooting positions (needs to seriously work on it though because it's a good weapon to have).
Well.....I got my wish. Let's see how he does today. Hope Bellerin makes some overlaps to give him some space.
 

KrissKringle

Reinventing VAR 😡
I didn't mean to say he was prolific but the eye test is not a metric to judge anyone. He's numbers aren't that bad compared to the best in the league so the eye test argument doesn't hold up.
I can say the same about stats, tbh. There are plenty of stat padding players out there that look good on paper, but when you see them live they're nowhere near that. The truth lies somewhere in the middle.
 
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