Nicolas Pepe has opened up about his torrid time as an Arsenal player, during which he struggled to justify being the Gunners’ most expensive signing.
The Gunners signed the winger following a stunning season at Lille, despite then-manager Unai Emery preferring Wilfried Zaha from Crystal Palace.
Arsenal broke their transfer record to sign Pepe, but the Ivorian was unfit for the Premier League and largely failed to impress during his time at the club.
He played under two permanent managers at Arsenal but never demonstrated that he was good enough to significantly help the team.
Ultimately, the Gunners cut their losses and allowed him to leave the club for a cheap fee.
Pepe faced constant criticism and has now revealed that he contemplated quitting the game due to his struggles.
He said, as quoted by the Daily Mail:
‘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.
‘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.’
