Nicolas Pepe: Rewriting His Story Away from Arsenal

When Nicolas Pepe’s name is mentioned, one number always looms large: £72 million. Arsenal’s record-breaking transfer fee in 2019 for the Ivorian winger brought with it monumental expectations and, ultimately, a burden that Pepe struggled to shake. Now, at Villarreal in La Liga, he’s carving out a new chapter in his career—one less overshadowed by The Number.

The Arsenal Years: Promise, Pressure, and Problems

Pepe arrived at Arsenal in the summer of 2019 as a 24-year-old with a burgeoning reputation after a stellar season at Lille, where he tallied 22 goals and 11 assists in Ligue 1. Arsenal fans were excited. Highlight reels of his dribbling, flair, and attacking instinct promised fireworks.

But the enormous transfer fee set a level of expectation that, as Pepe himself admits, was impossible to meet. “When a club pays that much for you, the little details don’t matter,” he reflects. “Automatically, the first player to be criticised is the one that cost a lot of money.”