Arsenal Vs Olympiakos: 5 things we learned – Oh dear, oh dear

4. The Nicolas Pepe conundrum

For some slightly curious reason, this game revolved around Nicolas Pepe. Arsenal relentlessly attacked down the right side, almost force-feeding the Ivorian the ball and it felt as if the only way they would create a chance was through the £72 million man doing something special. And to his credit, he came very close to producing precisely that on several occasions.

But in each situation, he always fell short. It might have been a poor decision to not release a pass, a poorly played pass that misses its intended target, an overcomplicated attempt at a dribble that is foiled, a wasteful shot from distance, or an obsession to get the ball onto his left foot that meant he spurned several opportunities to shoot or pass with his right.

It was a microcosm of his season and the perfect illustration of the conundrum he poses. The talent is prodigious, and there are individual moments that portray as much. But the production just is not there, and at some point, something is going to have to go give.