"I’m Back."
A message laced with potential, the kick start for what is hoped will be an impressive and consistent second half of the season for Nicolas Pepe.
Pepe’s evolution at Arsenal has been far from linear in terms of progression. The discussion around his price tag and his current Gunners career are becoming somewhat distorted and recycled. For now, the focus should be on the future rather than consistently critiquing his form up to now.
Over the last 365 days, Nicolas Pepe ranks in the top 15% of all attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues for non penalty goals, non penalty expected goals, touches in the opponent's penalty area, progressive passes, and aerial duels won.
This suggests that Pepe might be more suited to a more central attacking role where he is allowed slightly more freedom. This has been rumoured consistently recently, with Ian Wright stating that Arsenal should:
“Play him as a false nine, play him in a role where he’s free and he can run at people. It seems to me that Mikel is doing something where he has to take a chance on that.”
With Aubameyang no longer at the club following his move to Barcelona, and Alexandre Lacazette's contract running down, this is now the perfect opportunity for Pepe to demonstrate his ability centrally to the Arsenal faithful.
Equally, Gabriel Martinelli is beginning to deliver on his potential, posing the potential for both Pepe and Martinelli to create what would be an incredibly effective attacking threat. Combine this with Smith Rowe, Saka, and Odegaard, and Arsenal turn into a solid, and at once fluid, attacking unit.
As has been the case with Nicolas Pepe so far, patches of inconsistency have hampered him. That being said, Arsenal look in a stronger position in terms of team cohesion despite a poor opening to 2022, and Pepe’s reintroduction could prove to be a vital boost in the Gunner’s quest for European football.
