One of the biggest questions asked since the arrival of Arsenal club record signing (for £72million from Lille) Nicolas Pépé has been: When is this man going to pop off? So far in the Premier League he has 1 goal (a penalty vs Villa in a thrilling 3-2 win) and 2 assists in 9 appearances. If you go and watch his Lille highlights, it’s easy to see this man is a monster. In his last season with Lille he scored 23 goals and 12 assists in 43 appearances. He can do everything right: dribble with endless moves, create space, hit crosses, score from freekicks, and score from open play. How come he isn’t doing this in the Prem? To be fair, going from the Farmers/Baguette League to England is a massive change in pace. The tacklers are harder, the play is faster, and the league all in all is a lot better (no offense to the Ligue 1 fans out there). Also, he didn’t have preseason training or friendlies to get his match fitness back. Another thinf I see within him is: he tries to do too much. Whether it is too much dribbling or trying to get shots off, he needs to hunker down and play his game. That miss versus Sheffield was BAD. HOWEVER, Pépé has shown glimpses of brilliance. Whether it was ending Ben Mee’s career with a nice meg or dribbling past Van Dijk and Andy Roberson (Arsenal lost 3-1 to Liverpool I know, I know) he has all the tools. On the flip side, he hasn’t been scoring from open play. He is the type of player that Arsenal fans have been crying out for: a goal scoring winger. Goals for him have been hard to come by, but I will still keep my faith in him. As soon as his confidence is in full; Him, Aubameyang, and Lacazette… (sorry I need new pants). Now we fast forward to October 24th, 2019.
Arsenal are playing Portuguese Club Vitória S.C. on a Thursday night in North London. In the 8th minute, former Tottnum academy player Marcus Edwards scored. Arsenal are still playing like shite until momentum starts to favor us. In the 32nd minute off a delicious Kieran Tierney cross, Brazilian youngin’ Gabriel Martinelli latches on and bring the Arsenal level. All looks good until the 36th minute when off a horrible giveaway from Ainsley Maitland-Niles results in Vitória’s Bruno Duarte hitting a rebound off a dangerous shot and they’re up 2-1. For a while Arsenal have to chase the match. At the half, Emery put on Ceballos for Willock and Guendouzi for AMN. Things looks somewhat better, but the play is still sloppy. The final change made by Unai Emery is Nicolas Pépé on for Lacazette in the 75th minute. Now is when shit gets real. In the 80th minute Pépé steps up for a freekick and buries that Mf in the back of the net, 2-2 Arsenal could potentially win the match or mess it up as they sometimes/usually do. 5 minutes of extra time are added. Arsenal have a dangerous freekick near the half circle of Vitória’s box in the 93rd minute. Who steps up to take it: Guendo and Pépé. The whistle blows, Guendo jumps over the ball, and… Pépé smashes that Mf into the left corner top bins and the Emirates ERUPTS. This is the kind of performance I have been praying for from Nicolas Pépé. Him scoring a winning brace OF FREEKICKS is the confidence booster which will hopefully (please Lord I am on my knees) result in more baller performances from him, I hope. I guess it’s safe to say Pépé Is Here.
xoxo Your Friendly Neighborhood Toxic Degenerate Arsenal Fan
Author: Neel Ghose