Arsenal: 4 biggest disappointments this season

Nicolas Pepe Not Kicking On

Bukayo Saka is Bukayo Saka and the right side is his. That won’t change. The team as it is is the team that everyone wants to see, and the one that they hope will be in place for years to come. It is one that doesn’t include Nicolas Pepe.

But more was expected from him – even if history has told us not to – and the way he finished the previous season appeared to finally be offering supporters a taste of how talented the Ivorian is.

Starting five of the eight first matches of the season it became clear that Pepe had moved way ahead of Gabriel Martinelli in the pecking order, and even when he was shifted to the bench it would be the record signing who was called upon first of the reserve attacking options.

He looked like a shadow of the player who had netted five goals in his last three outings of the season. While those numbers were never sustainable, he has been gradually building up form over 2021 to the point where he looked a danger with every attack.

It just hasn’t happened. He hasn’t kicked on in the way everyone hoped, and even if he wasn’t going to be starting every week, his contributions otherwise haven’t satisfied.

Some will point to the team he was in at the start of the season and others will lean back on the idea that he hasn’t been given enough chances, but they aren’t viable complaints. Between now and the end of the season the hope is that he will keep adding value off the bench, like his clutch cameo in the win over Wolves.

Sadly, it’s no more than that.