It may have gone relatively unnoticed in England, but Nicolas Pepe found himself as the target of some pretty hefty criticism in Italy last week.
While Arsenal’s club-record £72 million signing was enjoying some warm weather training in Dubai with the rest of the Gunners squad, he was being labelled as one of Europe’s four biggest flops of the season by Gazzetta dello Sport.
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The Italian newspaper listed the 24-year-old alongside Ousmane Dembele, Thomas Lemar and Tanguy Ndombele - writing that Pepe had "lost himself" in London and that his return of just five goals from 25 appearances has led to "many doubts about the value of the investment".
The article even went on to hint that Pepe was largely to blame for Unai Emery’s sacking, stating that winger’s poor form had contributed to directly to the Spaniard’s dismissal as Emery had spent so much time trying to build a team around his big money recruit.
It is, of course, ludicrous to suggest that Pepe was to blame for Emery losing his job. Just as it is harsh to label him as one of Europe's four biggest flops of the season.
The Ivory Coast international may have yet to show the type of form on a consistent basis that convinced Arsenal to part with such a huge fee to bring him to London, but there have been flashes of brilliance along the way.
Five goals and five assists from 27 appearances is not the worst return, especially when you are having to adjust to a new country and a league as demanding as the Premier League.
But Arsenal do need more from Pepe. It is something Mikel Arteta admitted himself in his press conference ahead of Sunday’s game with Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium when quizzed on his winger being labelled as a flop.
“The price that we paid for him puts him in a difficult position straight away because he’s going to be compared to players of that calibre,” said the Spaniard.
“First of all the team has to sustain his ability and give him as many opportunities as possible during games for him to be able to execute his qualities. The other thing is he has his own responsibility, that’s for sure. He has to be more consistent in his performances.”
Arteta is absolutely right to call for more consistency from Pepe. Fans have seen his quality in flashes this season, such as his excellent goal and assist for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the victory at West Ham and his match-winning cameo against Vitoria in the Europa League.
But they have been few and far between, and if he wants to start proving his doubters wrong then he needs to start producing on a far more regular basis.
To label him as a flop, though, is far too simplistic.
Pepe was signed to help take some of the burden off Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette this season, with Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan allowed to leave to make way for the new arrival.
His haul of 22 goals for Lille last season was proof that he could finish, but he was in a team that was set up perfectly for his strengths.
Lille were a counterattacking side that sat deep and looked to use Pepe’s pace on the break - something they did superbly as they finished second in Ligue 1 behind Paris Saint-Germain.
But in England things have been very different. Pepe does not have the space to run into that he did in France. Teams tend to sit deep when they play Arsenal and when Pepe does get the ball, he often has three or four opposition players around him.
That has made life very difficult for the attacker and until Arsenal find a way of playing to his strengths, he will not be able to show the sort of quality that made him such a fearsome player across the English Channel.
“First of all he needs the right structure behind him to be able to provide the moments of quality and winning games, Arteta admitted. “Whether it’s assists, goals, dribbles or whatever it is.
“Afterwards he needs to have a much clearer picture of the things that are happening on the pitch, why they are happening and how he can solve them. I think he’s in the process of doing that.”
It’s easy to forget that Pepe is still just 24, that he moved to a club of the stature of Arsenal after just one breakthrough season in France and has had to deal with having three different coaches during his first campaign in a new country.
Three years against he was playing for Angers, scoring three goals in 34 appearances in Ligue 1. That shows how far he has come in a short period of time.
The fact Arsenal paid such a vast amount of money for him certainly raised expectations, perhaps unfairly, but now it is up to Pepe to start proving to his doubters - such as Gazzetta - that he has the quality to be a success in north London.
