Nicolas Pepe has said it was not his fault that Arsenal paid a hefty transfer fee to Lille to sign him.
Pepe joined Arsenal in 2019 for a then-club record fee of £72 million, however despite some early success, things quickly took a negative turn.
Reflecting on his time in London, Pepe revealed how much the weight of expectations and criticism affected him both on and off the pitch.
“I was bullied in London,” Pepe said in a candid interview with L’Equipe. “I didn’t ask for €80 million to be paid for me. It was a kind of trauma, as if my passion had been taken away.
“I had an aversion to football and thought about quitting. They were talking about me as the biggest failure* in the history of the Premier League.”
Pepe’s journey to Arsenal followed a standout period at Lille, where he scored 37 goals in two seasons.
He did well in his first season at Arsenal but the second year brought harsh scrutiny despite him netting 16 goals in all competitions.
By 2022, Pepe had been loaned out to Nice before moving to Trabzonspor on a free transfer in 2023.
This summer, after a short stint in Turkey, he joined Villarreal as a free agent, hoping for a fresh start
Since his move to Spain, Pepe has shown signs of rediscovering his form.
In Villarreal’s recent 3-1 La Liga win over UD Las Palmas, Pepe scored his first goal for the club after seven games, hinting at a possible resurgence. He also has an assist while averaging around 45 minutes per game.
