Tag: nicolas pépé

Arsenal’s club-record £72m signing Nicolas Pépé joins Nice on loan

The winger failed to live up to massive expectations in north London

Nice has confirmed that Nicolas Pépé has joined the club on a season-long loan from Arsenal.

The deal will not include a purchase option.

Pépé joined Arsenal from Lille in a £72 million move in 2019, which still makes him the club’s most expensive signing.

But the winger has so far failed to live up to the massive expectations during his time in north London.

The 27-year-old has scored 27 goals in 112 appearances for the Gunners over three seasons. That return isn’t altogether terrible but when considering the huge fee the Gunners paid, plus the fact he had 22 goals in his final season with Lille alone, it’s clear that Arsenal would have expected more.

Nice will hope that a return to France will reinvigorate Pépé, with the club sitting on just two points through its first three Ligue 1 games.

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Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe issued straight red card for headbutting Leeds player

Pepe was dismissed after headbutting Leeds’ Ezgjan Alioski in the second half, and Arsenal fans were furious.

Arsenal was somehow hanging on in their Sunday match against Leeds, maintaining a 0-0 tie despite giving Leeds all sorts of chances in the first half.

The team could have been buoyed by such a thing — it’s always nice when the other team fails to punish you for playing poorly, and Arsenal would have looked to turn the match around and capitalize on their luck in the second half.

Then five minutes into the second half their winger Nicolas Pepe was given a straight red card for headbutting Ezgjan Alioski on Leeds, and welp, there goes your second half right there.

Here’s the headbutt:

It’s unclear what set Pepe off, and while Alioski certainly made a meal of it, you really just aren’t allowed to headbutt guys. That’s in the rules and everything. Zinedine Zidane famously did it, and he let down a whole country when he did it.

Anyway, good luck in the remaining minutes of the match, Arsenal.

MLS: Goalkeeper gets red-carded in confusing, dramatic penalty shootout