Arsenal: It took our newest signing to state the most obvious fact

Arsenal have a lot of silence across the spectrum of the club. It’s crazy that it took our newest signing to state the most obvious fact.

Everyone needs a scapegoat. Someone to blame for the current state of the club. It makes it easier to stomach just how poor Arsenal are if we can hone in on who is at fault. Some say the board, some say Stan Kroenke, some say Freddie Ljungberg, some still say Unai Emery or Arsene Wenger.

And of course, there are those who indict a single player—Mesut Ozil or Granit Xhaka, for instance.

But Nicolas Pepe has gone ahead and spoken up about the matter and urged fans not to blame Freddie Ljungberg, but rather to blame the players. What a revolutionary concept that is so incredibly obvious, right? How is it that our newest signing, a guy who is struggling to even fit in at the club, is the only person coming out to say this?

We’ve seen it before. When Jose Mourinho was driven out of Chelsea that one fateful year leading into the brief tenure of Antonio Conte, it was the players that quite on him. That was widely established. Even for Mourinho, it was shambolic.

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

That’s what we’re seeing at the Emirates, and somehow only Pepe has the balls to say it. Where is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, our captain? Why isn’t he shouldering any of then blame? The dude took eight touches in the first half. He took more touches in that match where he snuck out to take a dump in the middle of the match.

There are any number of players who should be speaking out about this, but there are so very few who actually do. Hate it if you want, but Granit Xhaka is one guy who will always speak up about how deserving of the fault he and his teammates are. And now Pepe as joined that shouldn’t-be-but-is exclusive company.

Failing is one thing. Everyone fails at some point. Every team fails. But not being able to own up to the failures is something else. It may seem like a moot point, but it’s far from it. It doesn’t make up for how poor they’ve been on the pitch, but it gives some consolation that at least they understand something is wrong.

It’s not a lot to ask for, but some of these guys make it seem like it is.