He’s Worth Carrots Without End Product – £72m Arsenal Star Lambasted By Ex Chelsea Man

Former Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley believes Nicolas Pepe will have to start scoring goals quickly to justify his he price-tag. Pepe is yet to score for Arsenal after making a club-record move from Lille in the summer transfer window.

Pepe recorded his first assist for the club in their 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby, but has disappointed in front of goal.

The former Lille man had a few openings to score against Liverpool in matchday three of the league, but failed to take his chances as Arsenal eventually lost to the Reds.

The 24-year old had quite a reputation in the Ligue 1 for being a goalscoring winger as he mustered 22 goals last season, and 13 goals the season before that.

While it’s still early days in his Arsenal career, Burley has said that the Ivory Coast international plays in a position where he needs to produce week in week out to prove he is worth the price Arsenal paid for him.

“What I would say is he is overcomplicating it at the moment,” Burley said on the ESPN FC Show.

“The only way he will get to be the player potentially they think he can be is by working and having end product. Because anybody without end product in his position is not worth a carrot.”

Pepe has so far made four appearances for Arsenal since his £72 million move from the Ligue 1 to the Premier League, which made him the third most expensive signing in the league’s history.

He has taken a total of three shots so far, and although he hasn’t scored, he averages 1.5 key passes a game and has managed to make himself a regular in the teamsheet since his first start against Liverpool.

Arsenal will take on Watford after the international break in mid-September, and Pepe will hope to end his goal-scoring drought.