‘He hasn’t done enough yet’: BBC pundit discusses £140k-a-week Arsenal ace

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Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe “hasn’t done enough yet” to justify his £72million price tag but is improving and should get there in time, according to BBC Sport pundit Stephen Warnock.

Pepe joined Arsenal last summer in a club-record move, penning a five-year deal with the Gunners reportedly worth £140,000-a-week.

The 25-year-old arrived to huge fanfare and expectations given his price tag and his 22 goals and 11 assists for Lille in Ligue 1 the previous season.

While there were moments of brilliance and some great individual performances, Pepe wasn’t able to put in consistently great displays week in, week out.

This term, he has made three Premier League appearances, all off the bench, and has played the full 90 minutes in both League Cup matches.

Pepe put in an impressive shift against Liverpool on Thursday night, linking up well with Bukayo Saka and showing confidence offensively and defensively.

The Ivory Coast international provided a great ball for Rob Holding on 70 minutes which should have resulted in a goal, and held his nerve in the successful penalty shootout too.

“Nicolas Pepe has to prove that price tag,” Warnock told BBC Sport (1/10, 22:00). “He hasn’t done enough yet. He’s had a season in the Premier League.

“Now he wants to show what he can do. He’s slowly growing into it and showing signs of creating something from nothing.

“At times his final ball can be lazy and too relaxed, but he’s still young – that will come in time.”

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The problem with players moving for huge sums of money, particularly when such sums break club records, is that sometimes those players get over-burdened with unrealistic expectations, as if they’re to instantly hit the ground running and register Ronaldo-esque goal and assist tallies.

Pepe wasn’t necessarily bad last season, but because of that price tag, there’s this perception that he “hasn’t done enough”, as Warnock said.

Particularly when players change countries and leagues, there’s some acclimatising to do – and early-season struggles culminating in a managerial change doesn’t help either.

Pepe is a talented player, and with an improving team around him and a quality young coach at the helm, he’s bound to keep improving.