Nicolas Pepe has explained why he decided to join Arsenal, and why criticism of his performances under Mikel Arteta put him on a downward spiral.
Nicolas Pepe joined Arsenal in the summer of 2019, but the Gunners weren’t the only team in the running at the time. Serie A side Napoli were also interested, and the winger tells The Athletic that phone calls with both managers convinced him to pick a move to north London.
“I had a call with Carlo Ancelotti, who was Napoli coach at the time,” Pepe said. “It lasted five minutes. Half an hour later, I received another call, this time from Unai Emery (Arsenal’s manager at the time). It lasted an hour.
“He told me exactly what he was looking for, everything he would expect from me if I joined Arsenal. He spoke about tactics, what he wanted from me, where he was going to play me, how I could expect to improve under him. Loads of detail.
“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.
“That’s why I signed. It wasn’t the club, it was the coach. When someone wants you like that, you go.”
Perhaps that was part of the problem for Pepe at Arsenal. He may have joined for the coach, but Unai Emery wasn’t around for much longer. Mikel Arteta took over, and the new manager ended up having a preference for Bukayo Saka in Pepe’s position.
By that point, Pepe was facing a lot of criticism, and he says that ended up making him play worse.
“You see the effects on the pitch when you’re not right mentally,” Pepe explained. “Sometimes I would go out to play already feeling annoyed. And then you can’t do things you know how to.
“I’m a player who takes risks. But when you have all that in your head, you try not to be too daring. I didn’t want to make a certain pass or try a dribble because I knew that people would get on my back if I did.
“So you do the minimum: control the ball, look for someone who is unmarked, maybe pass sideways or backwards.
“You want to show what you can do, to shut people’s mouths, have some pride. But if your head is not right and it doesn’t work, you start playing backwards, unconsciously.”
Ultimately, Arsenal and Pepe parting ways was best for both parties. Saka has been a revelation for the Gunners on the right wing, and Pepe is back in a top-five European league playing as a starter for Villarreal.
But there are some lessons to be learned about the way fans treat players who aren’t performing, as criticism that many seem to view as constructive can clearly have the opposite of the intended effect.
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