Nicolas Pepe was on the receiving end of a verbal volley from Arsenal coach Albert Stuivenberg, despite Arsenal holding on to beat Leeds on Sunday afternoon.
The Gunners picked up a 2-1 win at the Emirates Stadium to move four points clear of Tottenham in the race for fourth place in the Premier League. Eddie Nketiah scored twice in the first ten minutes as Mikel Arteta’s side raced out of the block before Luke Ayling’s two-footed challenge on Gabriel Martinelli saw him sent off in the 27th minute.
Arsenal took their foot of the gas and were punished when Diego Llorente turned home a corner with Leeds’ first shot of the match in the 66th minute. Leeds mounted a late challenge, but could not force an equaliser as the defeat saw them slip into the relegation zone following Everton ’s 2-1 win at Leicester City.
It was a positive day for Arsenal, whose fourth successive league win put them in control of fourth place ahead of the trip to face Tottenham on Thursday. But not everyone was celebrating at the full-time whistle.
Pepe was brought on by Arteta in the 68th minute to replace Bukayo Saka on the right wing. The Ivory Coast international has not enjoyed a strong campaign for the Gunners and this appeared to be a good opportunity for him to show why the club spent a club-record £72million on him in 2019.
That is not what happened. Pepe made no impact for the Gunners, who spent the final 10 minutes defending their lead. That included Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier – who was at fault for Nketiah’s first goal – coming up from the back in the 90th minute for a corner.
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It was Pepe’s decision-making in the aftermath of that set piece which angered Arteta’s assistant Stuivenberg. The winger picked up a loose ball on the edge of the box and looked odds-on to streak clear of the retreating Leeds defence to make the most of an unguarded net.
However, rather than hit the ball with his right foot on the halfway line, Pepe tried to cut back onto his stronger left foot. That allowed Daniel James to get a tackle in – and for Meslier to run back to his goal. Leeds did not manage to muster an equaliser, but that didn’t prevent a dressing down from Stuivenberg.
The moment was another example of Pepe’s poor campaign for Arsenal. The 26-year-old has three goals and five assists in 21 appearances for Arteta’s side this season. He has been strongly linked with a move away from the north London club in the upcoming transfer window.
Pepe is reportedly attracting interest from Marseille and Lyon, who are willing to offer him a way out of Arsenal and back to where he made his name, playing for Lille in Ligue 1. He has two years remaining on his Arsenal contract, but the club may well be happy to cut their losses and let him leave this summer.
