Nicolas Pepe Confirms Return to Arsenal and Denies Poor Relationship with Mikel Arteta
Introduction
Nicolas Pepe has confirmed he will return to Arsenal in the coming days after spending last season out on loan and has dismissed claims he has a poor relationship with manager Mikel Arteta.
Pepe’s Move to Arsenal
The Ivory Coast international moved to north London in a club-record £72million deal from Lille in 2019 but struggled to live up to that price tag and was eventually sent out on loan to Nice last year, where he scored six times in an injury hampered campaign. Nice declined to turn Pepe’s loan stay into a permanent move and he will therefore return to parent club Arsenal, with pre-season training set to begin next week.
Pepe’s Relationship with Arteta
The 28-year-old is still expected to be offloaded this summer, but Pepe has suggested he is willing to fight for his place with the Gunners and insists he has a good relationship with Arteta despite some previous frustrations over a lack of playing time. ‘I will return to Arsenal. I was loaned without an option to buy so I have to go back to Arsenal,’ Pepe told YouTube channel Colinterview. ‘I don’t know [about my future] yet. When I get back, I’ll speak with the coach and everyone and see what everyone’s ideas are and then we’ll make a decision.’
On his relationship with Arteta, he continued: ‘People say that he identified me as a player that wasn’t up to the level in his team, in his philosophy. It’s completely false. When he arrived, he had Manchester City’s philosophy. He had a squad that was filled with quality and backups in every position. When he spoke to me, he said he counted on me, he wanted me to do this or that, and you have to focus on that. He improved me in every way. He spoke to me the whole time, I watched videos with his assistants all the time. He really believed in me. He said I had incredible potential, so we need to extract that potential.’
Pepe’s Improvement Under Arteta
At the end of the first season, Arteta spoke with Pepe and told him to do this or that. The second season came along, he was a substitute. Despite being frustrated, Pepe was eventually given a chance and scored against Sheffield United at the Emirates. This gave him back his confidence and he started speaking better with Arteta.
Pepe said: ‘He knew my style of play wasn’t waiting in possession, it was cutting inside, it wasn’t waiting out on the right. Before, I was a bit freer. I had to wait in my zone, and I wasn’t like that before. These are parts of my game that he tried to improve. He always wanted to help me with all of that.’
Conclusion
Nicolas Pepe has confirmed he will return to Arsenal in the coming days and has dismissed claims he has a poor relationship with manager Mikel Arteta. Despite some previous frustrations over a lack of playing time, Pepe insists he has a good relationship with Arteta and that the manager has helped him improve in every way.