If you ask Arsenal fans, Nicolas Pepe is one of the biggest flops and worst reinforcements in the club’s history. In August 2019, the Ivorian arrived at Emirates Stadium in a transfer worth 79 million euros, a club record at the time. A fantastic 2018/19 season with Lille recommended him to Arsenal, whose player he was until 2023 but spent his last season on loan at Nice. 📰 Nicolas Pépé says he thought about quitting football after being subjected to criticism that ‘bordered on bullying’ from the press, social media & ‘certain people’ within Arsenal. He also says ‘The only ones who always supported me were the Arsenal fans’. 💔 pic.twitter.com/ru9Zo9UxqY— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) July 18, 2024 Given that he was vastly paid, the expectations were enormous. And when the winger started falling short, people on social media and the public didn’t restrain from making negative comments. Speaking to the French L’Equipe, the 29-year-old finally decided to say his piece, admitting that he barely coped with all the criticism, which, apart from the public, came even from inside the club.”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 realize that it can affect the mental state, the family and it affects performance. The only people who have always supported me are the Arsenal fans,” Pepe revealed.Gunners’ tournament to forget and Arteta’s headachesIn addition, the winger claimed that the pressure was so immense that he felt traumatized, and his passion for football was killed entirely. Moreover, the Ivorian revealed that he even considered retirement at one point.”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,” stated Pepe frankly.After leaving London, Pepe tried to get his career back on track in Turkey by playing for Trabzonspor. His one-year contract with the Turkish side expired recently, but the player rejected the extension. He is currently a free agent looking for a club, and notwithstanding interest from Saudi Arabia, he’d like to stay in Europe.##NAJAVA_MECA_8216322##
