‘There’s no point’: Mikel Arteta says it just never worked out for ‘phenomenal’ player at Arsenal

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has addressed Nicolas Pepe’s departure from the Emirates in his press conference this week.

The Ivorian terminated his contract at Arsenal and left the club during the international break. He has now moved to Turkey, where he’s set for a new adventure at Trabzonspor.

Here’s what Arteta said about him.

Mikel Arteta says it just didn’t work out for Nicolas Pepe at Arsenal

Arsenal signed Nicolas Pepe for a then-club-record fee of £72 million in 2019 (BBC).

The Ivory Coast international moved to the Emirates on the back of a truly spectacular season at Lille, where he scored 23 goals and provided 12 assists in all competitions.

Arsenal hoped he would join Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to form the deadliest strike force in the league, but it just never happened for Pepe. He showed flashes of brilliance, but he could not do it consistently.

Mikel Arteta decided it was time to part ways, and that was done this week. The Arsenal boss has now claimed that it just didn’t work for Pepe and when that happens, there’s no point continuing to persist with him.

He said, as per Arsenal.com: “What I can say about him as a person is that he’s a phenomenal boy. He tried really hard. It is not his fault the amount of money that we paid at the time and that’s it.

“When things are not working, you have to move on. There’s no point trying when something is not working and that decision has been made and I think it benefits all parties.”

TBR View:

Moving on was the best thing for all parties involved.

Pepe is a fantastic talent. When he’s in full flow, he’s nearly impossible to stop, but for several factors, he just couldn’t do that on a consistent basis at the Emirates.

Bukayo Saka emerged in the same position at Arsenal, and that made it even more difficult for the Ivorian to get regular opportunities.

Arteta is right, there’s no point trying when things aren’t working, and we’re sure Arsenal fans will wish Pepe well as he embarks on a new adventure in Turkey.