Nicolas Pépé on his Arsenal transfer: “I didn’t ask anyone to pay €80m for me.” | OneFootball

Ivory Coast international striker Nicolas Pépé (29) gave a wide-ranging interview to L’Equipe. The former Lille player is now a free agent after his one-year contract with Süper Lig outfit Trabzonspor expired last month. Nicolas Pépé has opened up about his 2019 move to Arsenal. The London-based Premier League outfit broke their transfer record to lure the free-scoring winger to the Emirates Stadium – the record now belongs to Declan Rice.

“I didn’t ask anyone to pay €80m for me“, says Nicolas Pépé. “At this moment, people don’t care where you are from, they want you to deliver straightaway (…) There are not many players scoring 25 goals a season, and I was not even a centre-forward. I was not going to steamroll the Premier League like this.“

Nicolas Pépé reveals the extent of the criticism he received on the back of his underwhelming performances with the Gunners. In 112 appearances for Arsenal, the Ivory Coast international logged 27 goals and 21 assists. “It was close to harassment. I’m not really into social media but when my brother said what was being told about me, unconsciously, that affected me. It came from the media or some members of the club (…). The only people who have always backed me are the Arsenal fans.“

GFFN | Bastien Cheval