Pepe opens up on Arsenal ordeal: ‘I paid the price’

Nicolas Pepe has revealed just how heavy of a burden the record transfer fee Arsenal spent on him was.

In the summer of 2019, the Gunners spent a then-club-record fee of €80 million on the Lille winger on the recommendation of coach Unai Emery. However, Pepe’s stint in north London would ultimately go down as a massive failure.

Generally regarded as one of the biggest flop signings in Arsenal history, the 29-year-old left the Emirates in 2023 and now plays his football at Villarreal after a brief sojourn to Trabzonspor.

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Speaking to The Athletic, Pepe opened up on his ordeal and revealed that the transfer fee and the frequent criticism from supporters played heavily on his mind.

‘Arsenal spent the money and I paid the price’

“When a club pays that much for you, the little details don’t matter,” Pepe began. “I was young; it was the first time I had left France to play abroad. I had to adapt in lots of ways, but people don’t see that. They only see what happens on the pitch.

“Arsenal spent a lot of money on me and I paid the price for it,” he said before explaining how it was Emery, not Arsenal, that convinced him to move to England.

“He told me exactly what he was looking for, everything he would expect from me if I joined Arsenal…And although he’s not a great French speaker, he spoke to me in French for a whole hour. It was a small thing, but it impressed me. I felt his desire to work with me.

The sacking of Emery just a few months after his arrival had a massive impact. “With [Mikel] Arteta, it wasn’t…well, it was good at the start. After that, the confidence wasn’t really there. I got less and less game time, so there was some frustration.”

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The Ivorian stated that the “severe and unjust” criticism he faced from fans took a massive mental toll on him to the point where he wondered: “If these fans are criticising me, maybe my teammates are, too.”

Pepe comes to the conclusion that the fees spent these days are just too much and that it’s not the players’ fault if they can’t live up to the expectations created by inflated prices. “It’s like I served as an example for those that followed.

“Clubs now think, ‘If we’re going to pay big for a player, we have to protect him.’ Arsenal protected me, but it was like it was the first time. Today, there are players who cost a lot more than me and are producing less than I did, but they don’t get criticised.

“I think my move was shocking to some people in the sense that it was the first big fee. I think if [Arsenal] paid the same amount for me now, I wouldn’t be criticised in the same way.”