‘Not so sure’: Sky pundit doubts whether £140k-a-week Arsenal player will come good

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Arsenal legend and Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith is unsure whether Nicolas Pepe will come good for the Gunners.

The 25-year-old joined Arsenal in the summer of 2019 in a club-record £72million move, penning a five-year deal with the Gunners reportedly worth £140,000-a-week.

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

Pepe hasn’t exactly kicked on this term either, with some more inconsistent displays, not to mention his sending-off against Leeds which saw him suspended for three games.

The Ivory Coast international was named in Arsenal’s starting XI for the FA Cup fourth-round trip to Southampton, which the Gunners lost 1-0.

Pepe really struggled in the first half to get in the game, and although he was better after the break as he tried to make an impact, he was unable to stop his side from falling to defeat.

When asked on Stadium Astro if the winger will come good, Smith replied: “I am not so sure.

“He is in his second season now, it’s not like he is still adjusting, settling into a new country, to a new league.

“He is one of those players that can produce a little bit of magic, he can cut inside and whip one into the top left-hand corner.

“But I know there are occasions when his football intelligence looks short.

“It’s not as if he had been tearing up trees for long period back in France from where he came.”

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Pepe was superb at Lille and, when he joined Arsenal on the back of 22 goals and 11 assists in his final season in Ligue 1, it seemed like money well spent.

However, he has failed to live up to expectations at the Emirates and, while it’s not his fault Arsenal paid £72million for him, he’s still struggling.

If Pepe’s form doesn’t pick up by the end of the season, then it remains to be seen whether Arteta sees a future for the player at the Emirates.