Nicolas Pepe today saw his time at Arsenal officially come to an end when he was revealed as a new signing for Turkey Super Lig side Trabzonspor. The winger has penned a one-year deal with the club, making the move on a free transfer, resembling a bad business deal all-round for Arsenal after paying £72million to sign him in 2019.
Because of that huge fee, there were very big expectations from Arsenal and football supporters in general as to the sort of impact Pepe would have as a Premier League player. Whilst the general census is that he did not deliver sufficient quality when in an Arsenal jersey, there were certainly some good moments which made the £72million look like a cheap price!
Here, we wanted to focus on some of the big moments that Pepe produced during his time with the club. In total, Pepe managed three full seasons with the Emirates Stadium club between 2019 and 2022. Last season, he spent the season back on loan in France, where he impressed with Lille prior to joining Arsenal, with Lille, netting six goals in the process.
Across 80 appearances for Arsenal in the Premier League, Pepe would record 16 goals, whilst he added a further nine goals in domestic and European cup action. He now has a new home for himself in Trabzonspor, and with him inking just a one-year deal, we can't necessarily rule out a return to a major European league for Pepe should he impress this season.
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Nicolas Pepe best Arsenal moments: Free kick double
Pepe would go on to play a number of times for Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League and would make a good impression when doing so. In the end, he would struggle to replicate those feats against higher-quality opposition in the Premier League, but the first six months or so of Pepe in an Arsenal shirt looked promising, with this double strike against Vitoria Guimaraes being a standout highlight.
Scoring a brace is one thing, but for them both to be free kicks just takes things to another level. It is certainly not easily done. These were also important goals too, as Arsenal were 2-1 behind entering the final ten minutes before the Ivorian did his thing from outside the box on two occasions. Check out the video below to see it for yourself!
Nicolas Pepe best Arsenal moments: Brighton beauty
The tricky winger also fired in a fine strike against West Ham United but it was this curling delight against Brighton & Hove Albion that showcased exactly what Pepe was capable of. He would be doing these kind of tricks regularly for Lille, which led to a queue of clubs circling for his signature. Arsenal won that race, and moments like this suggested they were wish at the end. Although it petered out in the end, he clearly had quality, but didn't show this consistently enough.
It would become a trademark move of Pepe to cut in from his preferred right side berth and look to curl one into the corner. He did this quite a few times over his time with the club, but this effort against Brighton stood out the most. It is a shame the match was played behind-closed-doors during COVID times, as it deserved a bigger audience.
Nicolas Pepe best Arsenal moments: Bagged against ‘The Baggies'
One of the more powerful goals Pepe struck for Arsenal came in this clash against West Bromwich Albion; where defeat saw relegation confirmed for the opposition. Once again, it was a case of gathering the ball down the right side, dribbling at the full back, cutting inside and then unleashing. He certainly did unleash! This fearsome strike was always ending in the back of the net.
Again, it was also a case of Pepe showing exactly what he is capable of. Without doubt he is a confidence player and he lost that for a while playing for Arsenal, but there is certainly a player in there and Trabzonspor may reap the rewards if he can get rocking and rolling again.
