Arsenal: Nicolas Pepe might well be perfect

Arsenal are continually being linked with Lille winger Nicolas Pepe. After spending some time watching him play, I can say that he might well be perfect.

Arsenal need a winger. Plenty of people in the summer said that a winger was required. Either out of negligence or a lack of resource, the club did not invest in a new wide player, rolling forward with Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, even having the confidence to loan out Reiss Nelson, perhaps the best and most natural dribbler in the squad.

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And so, when looking at how Unai Emery may continue to shape his squad and evolve this club, it is clear that a winger is one of the main priorities in the upcoming transfer windows — any significant signing is likely to come in the summer, not this January.

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There is one name that is continually being linked with a move to north London: Lille’s Nicolas Pepe. Prior to this season, I knew very little about the Ivory Coast winger. I knew he was a winger. I knew he was young. I knew people liked him. But I had never watched him play. I had no idea what his style was, what his strengths and weaknesses were, whether he would be helpful to Arsenal or not.

So, as the rumours kept on flying in, I decided to fire up some Lille games and specifically watch Pepe play — I would like to point out I did not just watch YouTube highlights, but instead watched three full matches to get a genuine glimpse as to what he is like as a player, not just when whatever he tries happens to come off. My general thinking is this: He is a very impressive winger who might well be just what Arsenal need.

His game revolves around two things: his blistering speed, quickness and acceleration, and his close control when dribbling with the ball. Pepe is exceptionally direct, both in his movement off the ball and with it. That makes him very difficult to defend against. He is sometimes too direct, dribbling into trouble and getting dispossessed. But he has the speed and skill to beat almost any defender in a one-on-one, particularly if he is afforded the space to drive into.

But more than just a pure dribbler with great speed, Pepe has a goalscoring knack. He is a smart, capable finisher, though it is his movement and the number of chances that he creates for himself that is what drives his prolificacy. And he is also creative, a good, neat passer with an accurate delivery from wide positions.

He ranks 20th in Ligue 1 for shots per 90 minutes, seventh in goals per 90 minutes of players that have played at least 900 minutes (ten full games), 18th in chances created per 90 minutes, 16th in assists per 90 minutes, again excluding players that have played fewer than 900 minutes for both figures, has 12 goals and five assists in total.

Pepe is an excellent attacking winger. He is built very much in the mould of a modern, goalscorer wide player. He can dribble, he can score, he can create. He is not perfect. He is sometimes too direct and loses the ball. Questions can be asked of his defensive effort. But he might be just what Arsenal require.