Before this summer, Mikel Arteta’s track record of bringing new forward players to Arsenal was pretty non-existent.
While the Spaniard has enjoyed spending the Kroenke’s money on bolstering the defence, very rarely have we seen the attacking ranks improved.
Indeed, up to 2025, the only out-and-out attackers Arteta had brought to the Emirates Stadium were Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard and Willian.
Even Havertz was initially listed as a midfielder when he first moved to north London.
Signed for £65m, the German is still the most expensive addition to the forward line since a certain Nicolas Pepe, a player who did not exactly thrive under Unai Emery or Arteta.
His story in the capital is a sad one, although he is now finding form at Villarreal in Spain.
The story of Nicolas Pepe's abject Arsenal career
In August 2019, Emery and and Co went big to seal the acquisition of Pepe from Lille in a deal worth £72m.
It was a landmark move, one that broke the club’s transfer record at the time. While it was a jaw-dropping sum of money, splashing out on Pepe did not necessarily look like an awful decision at the time.
Indeed, the Ivorian had scored 22 goals and supplied 11 assists in 38 Ligue 1 matches the previous campaign. He was undeniably one of the most exciting wingers in European football.
Unfortunately, it didn’t exactly go according to plan for the left-footed star who struggled with wild bouts of inconsistency during his time in England.
That said, if we solely look at the numbers, he didn’t have a truly terrible time at the Emirates. He registered an average of 16 goal involvements per season, producing eight goals and ten assists during his first campaign. He then scored 16 times during his second year at the club. That’s a brilliant tally, more goals than any Arsenal player scored in 2024/25 for context.
Based on that, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Pepe did well. Ultimately, however, he wasn’t worth the £72m paid.
Eventually leaving on a free transfer after playing just 681 league minutes in 2021/22, Arsenal reporter Charles Watts described the move as a “horrendous mistake”. An internal investigation was led into the signing, while the player himself declared that he contemplated retiring as a result of his time in London.
To make matters worse, Emery later declared that he didn’t even really want Pepe either. The man the Spaniard wanted was Wilfried Zaha.
Indeed, the now Aston Villa boss once stated: “Pepe is a good player but he needs time. When I was there he didn’t give me the performances. I was in favour of someone coming who knew the English league, more than anything so that he wouldn’t need a period of adaptation. I had a meeting with Zaha. He was the player I wanted because I could see that he won so many games on his own.”
Now in Spain and aged 30, he is enjoying his time with Villarreal immensely. He was named LaLiga’s Player of the Month for August, having scored two goals and registered an assist in his opening three games for the club.
Pepe may have been an expensive flop for the Gunners but six years on from his acquisition, Arsenal may well have signed a player who is everything that the Ivory Coast international promised to be.
Arsenal star is shades of Nicolas Pepe, but in a good way
Pepe had plenty of endearing traits. Standing at 6 foot, he had a rangy dribbling and running style.
His play style was packed with little body feints; he would roll the ball with one foot and then explode the other way in the blink of an eye. He was direct and difficult to deal with in and around the penalty area.
Left-footed as well, he was your classic inside forward from the right flank. As we all know, it didn’t really happen for him.
Well, in 2025, it looks as though Arsenal have found another Pepe, just with all the bad bits left out.
Hear us out, but that player is Noni Madueke, the club’s £55m arrival from Chelsea during the summer transfer window.
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When Madueke first arrived at the club, certain but limited sections of the fanbase protested against his signing.
Seemingly fed up of signing players from Chelsea, the campaign read ‘No to Madueke’. Well, Arsenal said yes to Madueke and he’s been a captivating signing so far.
Like Pepe, he is left-footed and they both have a very similar dribbling style. We certainly saw that against Nottingham Forest on Saturday when Madueke terrorised Morato and Neco Williams at full-back.
The £150k-per-week England international completed a whopping five dribbles on the afternoon and his ability to trap the ball and then immediately run at players evoked memories of the best of Pepe.
He was remarkably direct, twisting the Forest full-backs this way and that. Hailed for his “electric” performance by Gunners writer, Adam Keys, it’s been a mighty fine start to life in the famous red and white for the 23-year-old.
The winger may not have found the net or assisted a goal yet, but the quality is clear. He is ready to explode in a way Pepe never managed to do.
Madueke was Arsenal’s most threatening player against Liverpool in the 1-0 defeat at Anfield and despite not registering a goal contribution on Saturday, once again looked like their most menacing player.
Perhaps, after all of these years, Arsenal are going to get the player Pepe promised to be, just for nearly £20m cheaper.
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