Arsenal: Nobody cares who Nicolas Pepe used to support

Arsenal newbie Nicolas Pepe once said he liked Chelsea and apparently this is breaking news. Can we talk about something that actually matters?

Arsenal recently announced the record-breaking transfer of Nicolas Pepe, who will cost the club £72m. But what makes it truly remarkable is the payment plan that the Gunners have with Lille to pay him off. It’s revolutionary.

But naturally, talkSPORT think that the more pressing news is that one time, a while ago, Nicolas Pepe said that he was a Chelsea supporter and that they were the only team he would ever play for in England.

Honestly, though, who really cares? The man is wearing an Arsenal shirt, he’s pumped to be here, he’s already turning the dynamic duo of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang into a trio. He’s a Gooner.

Arsenal fans have had this kind of thing happen, just in the other direction. As Michael Scott would say, “oh, how the turntables.” Serge Aurier is a great example, someone who was a huge fan of the Gunners before signing with Tottenham.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

And of course, there are those wonderful photos of Harry Kane in the red and white as a child.

At the end of the day though, as much as we poke fun at there being former Gooners on other clubs, how much does it ever distract from their play? How much do we actually believe that in their mind, they’re saying “I’d rather be playing at the Emirates”?

Not at all. Aurier was a fan of a football team growing up and, since then, his career has placed him on our fiercest rivals. He’s a Spurs man now, no one would question that.

Unfortunately, this does mean that we will have to deal with Chelsea fans taunting us that we have signed our very own Chelsea fan, which will get tedious and annoying, but hopefully it will fade into background noise like that picture of Aurier holding an Arsenal shirt, or Kane wearing the same. Funny how your perspective can change when the shoe is on the other foot.

At the end of the day, Pepe is a Gooner now, and whatever affiliation he had with Chelsea (literally none) is nothing more than a sound clip that will be making the rounds as soon as Pepe nets a brace at Stamford Bridge.

At which point we will have the perfect counter sound clip of our own.