Arsenal and Nicolas Pepe: Yes, the price tag matters

Nicolas Pepe is yet to light it up at Arsenal since his summer move. And sadly for the 24-year-old, the £72 million price tag matters when evaluating his contributions.

Football clubs are smarter than they ever have been. Increasingly, there are fewer and fewer hapless transfers. The tactics of the coaches are more advanced. Players better understand their roles and execute them at a higher level on the pitch. Professional organisations are now investing and using analytics, statistics and implementing a well-defined and clear identity.

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A key part of this collective progression over the past decade is the greater understanding of value. Teams now recognise the importance of a making a strong return on investments. Gone are the wasted signings are eyewatering fees for players who offer no re-sale value. Clubs are learning that expensive contracts can hamstring their future recruitment. There is a greater focus on the development of young players, understanding that their sales can fund moves for first-team contributors.

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While there is more money in football than there has ever been and clubs are spending more than they ever have, there is a greater recognition that this spending must be smart, self-aware, progressive, productive and beneficial, not just the willy-nilly sprees that we frequently saw during mid-00s and early-10s.

This greater focus on value means that players are judged in light of their transfer fee and wages. Mesut Ozil is criticised more due to the fact that he is paid £350,000 per week. Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi are seen as disastrous signings because of the price that was paid, not just their lacking performances since their arrival. And this is bad news for Nicolas Pepe, who became Arsenal’s club-record signing in the summer in a £72 million move.

Pepe has not made a strong start to his north London tenure. He has just one goal — a penalty — and one assist — a square pass to Alexandre Lacazette who then wriggled past two defenders and smashed a shot into the roof of the goal — in over 500 minutes of action. There have been fleeting moments where he illustrates his talent, but the frequency has been lacking for an apparent elite player. And the less said about his performance in Monday night’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United the better.

Now, this is not the time to panic. Patience, of course, is paramount here. It may take Pepe as long as a season or two to truly settle into a new team, league and culture. But when any discussion of his quality and production takes place, looming in the background will be his price tag. And that does unquestionably matter.

The price paid for a player does not determine how capable or not they are. Pepe’s talent is not altered because Arsenal paid £72 million for him. But the expectations of his production are. The club — and the fans subsequently — are expecting Pepe to be a world-class player. At the price they paid, and, whether justified or unjustified, the price is the barometer for their expectations, Pepe should be the best player in the team, the attacking inspiration, the game-winner when things are going wrong, one of the leading stars in the Premier League. And right now, he is none of those things.

That does not mean that he cannot become those things. And it also does not mean that Arsenal should give up on him ever becoming those things either. But in the increasingly value-aware modern game, Pepe’s price matters, and at present, he is not delivering on it.