Arsenal’s players march off the pitch as Dani Ceballos bathes in the adulation of his new home, a scintillating display from the young Galactico has handed Unai Emery his second win of the season and watching on in awe from the touchline is record signing Nicolas Pepe.
The Ivorian winger’s metronomic rise to the top didn’t go unnoticed, as Arsenal fought off interest from European champions Liverpool for the 24-year-old’s services, but fleeting appearances against both Newcastle and Burnley appeared only to signal a slow start to life in the Premier League. This, however, soon changed as the following week Pepe burst on to the scene at the very place he could’ve made his name.
A sun-kissed Anfield ushered in the first true test of both Liverpool and Arsenal’s title-challenging credentials, and under the scrutiny of fans and pundits alike arose the raw and untamed potential of Lille’s former heir to Eden Hazard – a title that only Pepe has managed to lay claim to in the seven years since Hazard’s departure to the Premier League. Does a similar career trajectory await the young winger? only time will tell, but despite a Mohammed Salah masterclass ensuring Liverpool romped home to victory, it was the lightning breaks and rampaging dribbles interspersed with moments of sublime individual skill from Pepe that drew the attention of spectators across the globe.
Twitter: Nicolas Pepe: Completed more dribbles vs Liverpool (7) than any player has managed in a Premier League match this s… https://t.co/2zUFPVupYX (@WhoScored)
The Clockwork Orange’s masterful author Anthony Burgess himself would’ve been proud of such an artistic creation as Pepe, the winger can be seen to delve between the unpredictable and effortlessly cultured within seconds, switching through the gears in a mechanical burst of ‘ultraviolence’ to spring an attack before proceeding to glide through the heart of opposition defences with a near machiavellian drop of the shoulder.
‘Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh’ Burgess would surely profess upon witnessing the organised chaos of Pepe’s destructive running style.
Twitter: Most take-ons completed after GW4 of the 2019-20 Premier League season:
• Nicolas Pépé (15)
• Wilfried Zaha (13)
•… https://t.co/4h1tBuyTpv (@Squawka)
As daunting a task as making your Premier League debut at Anfield may seem, Pepe’s baptism of fire only intensified this weekend as he started at the Emirates for the first time, in a North London derby that had all the pressure and expectation of old. First-half goals from Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane only served to intensify the home crowd’s worst fears, but just before the break, it would be Pepe who helped drag the beleaguered Gunners back into the game with a deft pass into the feet of Alexandre Lacazette who cut the deficit in half with a venomous strike. The pair’s link-up play was exemplary all game, and Pepe himself racked up an impressive seven shots, two key passes and four dribbles as Arsenal came from two down to rescue a point.
Pepe has started just twice for Arsenal this season, and yet it already seems he is the player capable of stepping into the shoes of Alexis Sanchez, who no matter how distant it may now seem was once the crowning glory of the red side of North London.
Whilst his low defensive output and tendency to surrender possession are qualities that can and must be nurtured, Pepe clearly possesses dazzling technique on the ball and once he combines this with the sort of end product he showcased in France (Lionel Messi was the only other player in Europe’s top five leagues to produce double figures for both goals and assists) then Emery has a player single-handedly capable of propelling Arsenal above Tottenham and restoring the infamous St. Totteringham’s day to its former glory.
