Ideally, i would rather give Pepes minutes to Vieira, ESR and even Marquinhos if we think he has potential. Pepe doesn't have a future here, hasn't been good enough and should be sold next season, was generally a good idea to send him on loan to raise his value

Having said that, not replacing him is a mistake if we really are trying to fight for all the competitions, the other options are far from guaranteed to be relied on, especially in their first season.. Maybe they have seen enough with either of them in training but even still would be a risky strategy.. Pepe is decent against weak opposition and would have been useful in EL and early cup games. Hopefully there is still business to be done.

Pepe offers loads. Just look at when he played regularly in the second half of the 20/21 season. Arteta doesn't fancy him though so letting him go play football is best for all concerned.

I've no interest in signing any of the "top wingers" we've been linked with. I don't see any of them as being head and shoulders above Martinelli and ESR. Would be happy to take a punt on someone or just give minutes to Marquinhos.

And Pepe won us enough games single handedly over the past 2 years, especially in cups. We need to have someone as good as him in the squad by hook or crook.

The idea that we have to wait for a perfect player to drop into our squad need to stop. Football don't wait for people, by the time that guy comes another guy is leaving again. Lets capitalise on our good start and give us as much opportunity as possible. If we had done an emergency loan deal for a striker last january for example it is highly likely we would have gotten UCL and be a lot faster in our process than now.

Who could we have got on an "emergency loan" that would have made the difference? Especially when Partey, Tierney and Tomiyasu went down and missed the rest of the season. Those were the 3 that killed us because of who we had backing them up and because it was all at the same time.

Anyone but Lacazette? Jovic for example was linked with us and is having a great start at Fiorentina now. A loan deal would have had no risk and could win us points.

Our main problem last year was that too many matches after January we are absolutely toothless upfront. I was watching back the matches after All or Nothing and Lacazette missed so many sitters or didn't move for crosses it wasn't funny. Any half decent striker would have won us 2 more points, or rather put us in an even more commanding position we could afford to not have any pressure going to Shitlane and St James.

I think Arteta felt he owed Nketiah more game time and could foresee this development in him, and had one eye on trying to get him to sign a new contract. Pushing Eddie to third in the pecking order would have been fine if a sure thing was available in January, but a speculative loan on a questionable player? Not sure I agree it would have made a world of difference because Lacazette was actually decent until he wasn't, and then Nketiah was more than decent when he finally replaced him.

Arteta's mistake waa probably in not dropping Lacazette for Nketiah quicker.

Think it was the right call to send Pepe out on loan. I know he’s rusty but he looked a completely different player to the one we signed on his debut for Nice this weekend. Lacking confidence and playing with the handbrake on

Saw the comp, he looks so slow. Hopefully it's just a lack of match fitness, he should bang a ton of goals in that league when he gets going.

Clrnc wrote:

Anyone but Lacazette? Jovic for example was linked with us and is having a great start at Fiorentina now. A loan deal would have had no risk and could win us points.

Our main problem last year was that too many matches after January we are absolutely toothless upfront. I was watching back the matches after All or Nothing and Lacazette missed so many sitters or didn't move for crosses it wasn't funny. Any half decent striker would have won us 2 more points, or rather put us in an even more commanding position we could afford to not have any pressure going to Shitlane and St James.

We were on for a loan deal re Jovic and then RM canned it after Benzema got injured.

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