MX23RW : Monday, December 16 09:15:41| >> :60:777:777:

Martin Keown hits out at £72m fee for Nicolas Pepe

Keown hits out at £72m fee for Nicolas Pepe
© Reuters
Martin Keown questions Arsenal's decision to spend £72m on Nicolas Pepe during the summer transfer window.

Former Arsenal captain Martin Keown has claimed that Lille "will be laughing all the way to the bank" after convincing the Gunners to pay £72m for Nicolas Pepe during the summer transfer window.

Pepe scored 22 Ligue 1 goals during the 2018-19 campaign before joining Unai Emery's side, who paid a club-record fee to bring the Ivory Coast international to the Emirates Stadium.

The 24-year-old has managed just one goal in nine appearances for his new club this season, though, and Keown has claimed that his former side should have saved their money due to the emergence of Bukayo Saka.

"If you think back to Arsene Wenger, he would have never have blocked the path of a young player but they are in danger of doing that with Bukayo Saka," Keown told BT Sport.

"Pepe, is he going to get into the team? It's a massive amount of money they have paid for him and Lille will be laughing all the way to the bank with that one. It's still early days and maybe the player will turn it around but I haven't really seen what I expected to see from him."

Pepe has completed four of Arsenal's last five Premier League matches, although the attacker was substituted against Manchester United on Monday night after failing to make an impact.

ID:374021: cacheID:374021:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2609:
Written by
Matt Law
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Matteo Guendouzi in action for Arsenal on July 28, 2019
Read Next:
No fresh injury concerns for Arsenal
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool15113131131836
2Chelsea16104237191834
3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City168352823527
6Aston Villa167452425-125
7Bournemouth157352320324
8Fulham166642422224
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton166642625124
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1672736191723
11Brentford167273230223
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd166462119222
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Crystal Palace163761721-416
16Everton153661421-715
17Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1612131136-255


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!