Mikel Arteta has done a brilliant job of rebuilding Arsenal after taking over the job from Unai Emery back in December 2019.
The former Arsenal midfielder has been given funds to improve the playing squad, allowing them to compete with the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title.
On the whole, Arteta and the board have invested the money well with the signings of players such as Declan Rice from West Ham United and Gabriel from Lille – with the pair costing a combined £132m.
However, within the big investment, the club have spent a lot of money on players who have failed to live up to expectations of their hefty price tags.
One of the main examples of the club's poor spending is one of Gabriel's former teammates who he played with during his time in Ligue 1 for Lille.
Nicolas Pepe's comparison to Thierry Henry
Arsenal announced the signing of winger Nicolas Pepe on the 1st of August 2019, for a club-record fee at the time of £72m on a six-year deal.
The winger was highly sought after, with clubs such as Bayern Munich interested in signing the then 24-year-old. However, Pepe decided to join Arsenal, with a lot of hype around the Ivorian.
Pepe made his debut ten days after his signing, coming on as a 71st-minute substitute away at Newcastle United, before making his full debut against Liverpool at Anfield two weeks later.
The former Lille forward showed glimpses of his skills, however, failed to provide consistency regularly which led to questions over the club's recruitment. Pepe finished his first season in north London with five league goals and six assists – a poor return from a player that cost such a huge figure.
Despite his shaky start to life in the Premier League, Pepe was tipped to follow in the footsteps of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry by Graeme Souness.
He famously noted: "You think of their best ever player Thierry [Henry], he came here and didn’t have a great first season, took some time, and I see Pepe being a star here. He's got great feet, [he's] electric and still a baby."
No one was to know what the future held for the winger, but he certainly didn't live up to expectations at the Emirates.
The Ivorian finished his Arsenal career this summer, after five years at the club which included a loan spell back to France, where he joined Nice for the 2022/23 campaign, scoring six times in 19 league appearances.
2019/20
42
8
10
2020/21
46
16
5
2021/22
23
3
6
Pepe left the Emirates on a permanent basis this summer after 112 appearances in North London, joining Trabzonspor in Turkey on a free transfer five years after his £72m move.
Nicolas Pepe's stats after Arsenal
Since his move to Turkey, the "horrendous mistake" as described by Arsenal journalist Charles Watts, has featured nine times in the Süper Lig, scoring just twice and registering one assist.
Pepe has missed over two months through injury so far this season, with the winger really struggling to replicate the form that he found for Lille before his move to the Premier League.
It's clear to see that Pepe's move to Arsenal was a complete disaster for all parties involved. After fighting off interest from some of Europe's elite, it looked as though, for a period, the Gunners had completed some quality business.
However, fast-forward five years and Pepe, at the peak of his career at 28, is struggling to showcase his talent. It was a huge risk taken by the club in signing the winger and unfortunately, it was one that backfired.
