Arsenal: There has to be more to Nicolas Pepe than this

Arsenal saw a familiar performance out of Nicolas Pepe, so I’m beginning to wonder what exactly his ceiling is, and if we’re dangerously close to hitting it.

Let me be clear about something—I’m not one of those people who is ready to sell out and deny that Nicolas Pepe is a quality talent after less than half a season in the Premier League. Arsenal forked out the big bucks on him for a reason. They believe in him too.

But after seeing another familiar display against Sheffield United, arguably the exact same display that he showed against Liverpool, I’m beginning to wonder if this is just who Nicolas Pepe is. And, as a follow-up, if it’s a good or bad thing.

Obviously there’s still plenty of time to improve, and he will, but we are seeing some nearly identical outings from him very early on in his career at the Emirates thus far.

He dribbles well, he moves with the ball well. He swivels and swerves and makes a lot of problems for the defense. He navigates tight spaces, he creates pretty well.

It’s all very useful. He was very useful against Sheffield United.

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

But when the opportunity presented itself just before Sheffield United scored and Pepe yet again fluffed his lines and the biggest opportunity of the match went lacking. Again. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Pepe do this and by my reckoning, it won’t be the last. He is not proving to have the finishing gene, and while it’s still way too early to hit the panic button, it’s certainly time to wonder if this is just who Nicolas Pepe is.

Honestly, ask yourself what the primary thing we needed out a winger was—penetration and creativity, right? Right. I would put finishing ability on that list, obviously, but further down, maybe fifth or so. We have other guys to do the finishing.

And that’s the thing too, Pepe is going to be better at finishing than he currently is. Really. He is. It’s clearly not his strong suit, but that doesn’t mean it won’t improve. And if it doesn’t improve, that’s when you ask, yet again, what you really wanted out of him.

When Pepe first arrived, I wrote about whether he would be more like Eden Hazard or Gervinho. I said the former. There’s still time, but he may end up more like the latter.

Or who knows, maybe he’ll be on a completely different scale. You just can’t ever tell.