Arsenal: 3 most important players when season resumes

1. Nicolas Pepe

The most hotly contested man in London, I’d say. Nicolas Pepe arrived carrying the highest price tag in Arsenal history, despite only 20% of it being paid right away, and he struggled to settle, as new signings literally always do.

While everyone was complaining and bailing and SkySporst were dubbing him a worse signing than Harry Maguire, Pepe was quietly chipping in enough goals to raise up the team scoring charts to where he is now, competing with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for top goal contributor on the team.

That’s a fairly recent development, but not really. It’s been scattered across the season pretty consistently barring that initial acclimation period. But it’s been especially pronounced under Mikel Arteta, where he’s learning to be a more steady performer and no attempt to change the world with every touch.

Pepe’s return could be anywhere on the spectrum. He could revert to needing more time to get settled, he could be even better than we left him. And that return will definitely have a big part to play on what happens with Arsenal moving forward.