“I had a disgust for football”: Nicolas Pepe recalls his time with Arsenal

New Delhi [India], July 19 (ANI): Ivory Coast winger Nicolas Pepe revealed that during his time with Premier League outfit Arsenal, he had a “disgust for football.”

The Gunners acquired the services of Pepe for a record transfer fee of £72 million in 2019. However, he failed to justify his price tag over four years.

Eventually, Pepe’s contract was mutually terminated in 2023, and now he is a free agent after spending one year with Turkish club Trabzonspor.

“It was almost harassment. I don’t look at social media much, but if my brother told me, “This is what they said about you,” it would affect me unconsciously. It also came from the media or from certain members of the club. They don’t realise that it can affect the mental state, the family, and it affects performance,” Pepe said while reflecting on his time with Arsenal, as quoted from Sky Sports.

“The only people who have always supported me are the Arsenal fans. At Arsenal, I suffered a kind of trauma, as if my passion had been ripped away from me. I had a disgust for football. I doubted myself to the point that I thought about quitting everything. I wondered how they could have been so relentless in their attacks on me. They even called me the biggest flop in the history of the Premier League. But I refused to mope,” he added.

During his time with Arsenal, Pepe featured in 80 matches in the Premier League. He scored 16 goals and registered nine assists.

Despite ending up on the receiving end of criticism from football experts and pundits, Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta backed Pepe by stating he did his best.

“I wasn’t involved in the process of that deal. What I can say about him as a person is he’s a phenomenal boy. He tried really hard. He did his best,” Arteta said after Pepe’s contract was terminated.

“It’s not his fault for the amount of money we paid. When things are not working, you have to move on. There’s no point in trying when it’s not working. That decision has been made, and it’s to the benefit of all parties. There are moments for players, and not only for him, Rob [Holding] leaving and all the other ones,” Arteta added.