Gunners hero Ray Parlour has warned that Nicolas Pepe is at risk of being moved on due to a lack of "consistency", should Arsenal under-deliver in the final part of the season.
Pepe has failed to reach the standard many expected him to following his £72m move from Lille in 2019. He has started only five Premier League matches this season, finding the net just once in 15 outings.
The Ivorian has been mainly used as a substitute in 2022, coming on for cameo appearances later in the game. In fact, he’s only managed to enjoy 42 minutes in his last three league matches.
READ MORE: Ian Wright sends transfer warning to Arsenal amid Bernd Leno display at Aston Villa
Pepe netted 16 times in all competitions last season but many Arsenal supporters are yet to be fully convinced that he has fulfilled his price tag. Parlour concurs with them, stating the winger has had “little impact” of late.
Speaking at the Design Museum to celebrate the launch of new exhibition 'Football: Designing the Beautiful Game' (via HITC), he said: “Nicolas Pepe can be a frustrating player because he blows hot and cold.
“He’s capable of incredible things, but then he has a more limited impact for a few games. Pepe occasionally provides moments of magic which shows why Arsenal chose to spend big money on him, but as things stand you can’t rely on him to fire you to trophies because he lacks the consistency you need at the top level.”
Parlour mooted that Mikel Arteta could be tempted to move Pepe on if their Champions League pursuit dissolves. He added: “I think he can be a threat when he has the ball at his feet, but it’s his movement when he doesn’t have the ball that could improve if he’s going to be a more important weapon for Arsenal.
“Mikel Arteta may consider looking to move him on this summer, but you’d assume that would be at a big loss on the investment that the club made in him and they’d need to sign a replacement as well. It might depend on if Arsenal qualify for the Champions League and if we need a bigger squad or not but he could most certainly stay.”
Arsenal have not finished inside the top four since the 2015/16 campaign, when they came second during Leicester’s historic Premier League triumph.
