LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 17: Nicolas Pepe of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Burnley FC at Emirates Stadium on August 17, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Regan / Getty Images)
Arsenal has seen some incredible things from Nicolas Pepe, but the next stop for him is something that doesn’t require that much skill.
Nicolas Pepe continues to grow and improve. While Arsenal fans continue to argue with each other over whether he was worth the record sum paid for his services, I will still firmly hold on to the truth here – that he was absolute.
But that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Of course not. What fun would that be? Rather, he’s an incredible attacker – arguably our best – as he continues to grow and improve on his way. Even this season we saw a lot of improvements. He doesn’t force the subject as much as he did months ago. It produces more goals. He settled in better.
These are all skills acquired. Things he took with him on the way. You know because the players are improving. That’s exactly what they do.
The next thing for Pepe is longevity. To be able to rank entire matches in which he is the star, and not just segments of 30, 45, 60 minutes.
Against Sheffield United in the FA Cup, Pepe was a monster of an attacker in the first 45. After scoring this penalty, he had two other huge chances, one of which required an outstanding parade and the other just missed the long post.
Pepe was everywhere. He trickled circles around Stevens and Robinson, leaving them in the dust every time he felt like it.
But it faded in half. You could tell because Bukayo Saka was more committed and took up the void where Pepe had left off. Pepe still had a really good chance in the second half before saying goodbye after missing a ball he had left behind by Ceballos to take the winner home.
All in all, it earned him the man of the game. But it must also be said that he played about an hour of really good football and half an hour more. Which is fine, I’m not complaining. An hour of peak pepe is better than 90 minutes of most people’s summit.
Just in terms of what happens next, what he can improve next, I would like to see him expand this ability for entire games. We have seen it a few times, but most of the time he is submerged anyway, so he doesn’t even have a chance.
