Arsenal: Nicolas Pepe playing like £72 million matters

Nicolas Pepe is trying too hard. He is ignoring the simple option and harming the Arsenal attack. His performance is like the £72 million price matters, which it shouldn’t.

Nicolas Pepe arrived as Arsenal’s record transfer. It was hoped — and expected — that he would be the modern-day, goalscoring winger who can dribble past defenders, run in behind, support the centre-forward, and, most crucially, create and score goals.

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He has the talent to produce all of those processes on a consistent basis. He proved as much last season with 20-plus goals and 10-plus assists in France, and has illustrated the potential to do so this season, despite his extensive growing pains. Nevertheless, it is quite evident that the price tag is weighing on him.

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In fact, earlier this season, head coach Mikel Arteta almost confirmed as much. Without stating explicitly that Pepe was struggling with the pressure that his price tag induces, Arteta admitted that it is not easy to deal with the added expectation that comes with 72 million targets on your back:

"“The price that we paid for him puts him in a difficult position straight away because he’s going to be compared to players of that calibre. He was in France and was one of the biggest stars in the league. He had an incredible year. Now he comes here and a lot of people didn’t even know him and you paid that price tag. So for him to put his brain into this picture and solve all this is not easy.”"

And Pepe is playing like it, though perhaps not in the way you would expect a player of such a price tag to struggle.

Pepe has not wilted. He is still working hard, standing up to be counted, attempting difficult passes and dribbles, trying to cause problems and, ultimately, score goals. It is not as if he has shied away from the limelight and floundered with drooping shoulders. In fact, if anything, it is exactly the opposite.

Pepe is struggling with his price tag because he expects himself to do it all by himself. He knows that he should be the attacking catalyst, but instead of simply playing his part in a larger machine, he is trying to take over the whole operation. And football rarely works like that.

The Ivorian slows down the play, forces dribbles that are never on, is painfully slow to release easy passes, is hesitant to shoot on goal, and always tries to beat the defender just one more time, even if it does not put himself in a better situation. The twisting and turning against Olympiakos, while fancy and impressive, led to next to nothing. Why? Because he is forcing it thanks to his price tag.

Pepe needs to stop playing like he believes a £72 million player should. He needs to simplify things, execute the easy moments, and let the game come to him. When he does, then he will start to produce as the expectations demand.