He had broken the transfer record of Arsenal, who had paid €80 million to recruit him from LOSC in 2019. And if Nicolas Pépé had chosen Arsenal, it was mainly for his then coach, Unai Emery, as he ‘explained in an interview with The Athletic. “I had a call with Carlo Ancelotti, who was the Napoli coach at the time. It lasted five minutes. Half an hour later I received another call, this time from Unai Emery. It lasted an hour. He told me exactly what he was looking for, everything he expected from me if I joined Arsenal. He talked to me about tactics, what he expected of me, where he was going to play me, how I could improve under his guidance. Lots of details. And even though he doesn’t speak French very well, he spoke to me in French for an entire hour. It was a small thing, but it impressed me. I felt his desire to work with me. »
This is why Pépé joined Arsenal rather than Napoli. Maus Unai Emery was sacked a few months later, and it was ultimately Mikel Arteta who sat on the bench. And the adventure went wrong for the Ivorian, who found his taste for football again with Villarreal. “With Arteta it wasn’t… well, it was good at the beginning. After that, the confidence wasn’t really there anymore. I had less and less playing time, so there was some frustration. I’m not someone who likes to be on the bench every week without justification or explanation. So yes, it was something that created some tension. »
