Nicolas Pépé

Nicolas Pépé (born 29 May 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Arsenal and the Ivory Coast national team.

Pépé started his career at French side Poitiers in the Championnat de France Amateur 2. He signed for Angers in 2013 and spent a season on loan at Orléans during the 2015–16 season before establishing himself as one of the best wingers in Ligue 1 with Lille, who he signed for in 2017. His performances during the 2018–19 season, where he was named to the UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year, led to him being linked with several top European clubs. On 1 August 2019, Pépé joined Arsenal in a club-record fee of £72 million.

Pépé, who was born in France to parents of Ivorian descent, made his debut for the Ivory Coast on 15 November 2016 in a friendly against France.

Early career

Born in Mantes-la-Jolie, Île-de-France, Pépé grew up in the 19th arrondissement of Paris and started his career originally playing as a goalkeeper for local side Solitaire Paris Est until he was 14 years old. When his father Celestin, a prison guard, was transferred to Poitiers, Pépé began his senior career as an outfield player with Poitiers FC in the Championnat de France Amateur 2 (fifth tier) in 2012–13.

Angers

He signed for Angers in 2013, and spent his first season with the reserves in the CFA 2.

He made his professional debut in the second round of the Coupe de la Ligue in a 2–1 home loss to Arles-Avignon on 26 August 2014, as a 73rd-minute substitute for Yohann Eudeline. His first Ligue 2 match was on 21 November 2014, starting in a 1–1 Ligue 2 draw away to Ajaccio.

Pépé was loaned to Orléans for the 2015–16 Championnat National, and helped the club to promotion from the third tier as runners-up. He returned to an Angers side playing in Ligue 1 and which reached the 2017 Coupe de France Final, where he started in a 1–0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade de France.

Lille

On 21 June 2017, Pépé signed a five-year deal with Lille, for a maximum transfer fee of €10 million, after being signed by head coach Marcelo Bielsa who had scouted the player by watching footage of every Ligue 1 game he had played in for Angers, before scouting him in person. Pépé described Bielsa as "special" and a "great coach". He started the season playing as a striker after being converted into playing the position under Bielsa, before finishing the season under the new Lille head coach Christophe Galtier, playing as a winger.

During the entirety of the 2017–18 Ligue 1 season, he was a regular in a Lille side that narrowly avoided relegation, missing only two games and scoring 13 times, including two apiece in away wins at Metz and Toulouse.

On 15 September 2018, during the 2018–19 Ligue 1 season, Pépé scored a hat-trick, including two penalties, in the 3–2 away win over Amiens. Days later, it was confirmed by club president Gérard Lopez that FC Barcelona were among several clubs that were interested in signing him. On 14 April 2019, Pépé scored a goal and provided two assists in the 5–1 home win over Paris Saint-Germain. He finished the 2018–19 Ligue 1 season with 22 goals, second only to PSG's Kylian Mbappé, with 11 assists, and was named in the UNFP Team of the Year.

Arsenal

On 1 August 2019, it was announced that Pépé had joined Premier League club Arsenal in a club-record fee of €79 million (£72 million), eclipsing the previous record of €62 million for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Upon signing for Arsenal, he was handed the number 19 shirt.

2019–20 season: debut campaign

Pépé made his Arsenal debut in a 1–0 away win over Newcastle United on 11 August, as a substitute for Reiss Nelson in the 71st minute. His first start for the club came two weeks later in a 3–1 loss to Liverpool, in which he played the full 90 minutes.

Pépé scored his first Arsenal goal, in the team's 3–2 home win over Aston Villa. He converted a penalty to bring Arsenal level, following a foul on Mattéo Guendouzi, bringing the score to 1–1.

Pépé scored his first European goals in Arsenal's UEFA Europa League 3–2 home win over Vitória de Guimarães, netting a brace. Both of Pépé's goals came from free-kicks, one in the 80th minute with a curling effort from 25 yards, the second, a remarkable finish from just outside the penalty area, which flew beyond goalkeeper Miguel Silva in stoppage time, to give Arsenal the win and keep them top of Group F.

On 9 December, Pépé scored his first goal for Arsenal from open play. Receiving the ball from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, he cut inside onto his stronger left foot and curled a brilliant effort beyond West Ham United goalkeeper David Martin. Pépé then set up Arsenal's third, with a chipped ball into the penalty area, which Aubameyang subsequently converted.

On 1 January 2020, Pépé scored Arsenal's first goal in a 2–0 home victory over Manchester United, marking new head-coach Mikel Arteta's first win.

On 16 February, Pépé scored again for Arsenal in the team's 4–0 win over Newcastle United. Pépé assisted the team's first goal, which was converted by Aubameyang and then doubled the team's tally after good work on the wing from Bukayo Saka and a near-post finish from Pépé. Pépé then capped off his performance with an assist for the team's fourth and final goal, setting up Alexandre Lacazette.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Premier League season was placed on hold. Arsenal's first game back was a 0–3 away loss to Manchester City on 17 June, which Pépé played no part in. Three days later, however, he returned to the team's starting eleven against Brighton & Hove Albion, in which he scored Arsenal's first goal since the restart, curling an effort past goalkeeper Matthew Ryan, however, Arsenal would go on to lose the game 2–1. On 28 June, Pépé scored his first FA Cup goal in a 2–1 away win against Sheffield United in the quarter-finals, giving Arsenal the lead in the 25th minute from the penalty spot.

Pépé was born in France to parents of Ivorian descent. He received a call up to the Ivory Coast national football team in November 2016, and was an unused substitute in the goalless draw away to Morocco in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification on 12 November. He made his debut three days later in a friendly of the same score against his birth nation, France, at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens, playing the final four minutes in place of Max-Alain Gradel.

Pépé was named in Michel Dussuyer's 23-man squad for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon, but took no part as the Elephants were eliminated from their group.

On 24 March 2018, in a friendly against Togo in France, Pépé scored his first international goals in the first half of a 2–2 draw. He followed it three days later, with another goal in a 2–1 win against Moldova in the same stadium.

Pépé is known as a pacey and skilled attacking winger who is comfortable on both flanks, but usually plays on the right wing cutting onto his left foot; he was also converted by former Lille head coach Marcelo Bielsa to play as a striker.

Club

As of match played 12 July 2020

International

As of 19 November 2019

International goals

Scores and results list Ivory Coast's goal tally first.

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	24 March 2018	Stade Pierre Brisson, Beauvais, France	Togo	1–0	2–2	Friendly
2.				2–0
3.	27 March 2018		Moldova	2–0	2–1
4.	23 March 2019	Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast	Rwanda	1–0	3–0	2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
5.	13 October 2019	Stade de la Licorne, Amiens, France	DR Congo	2–0	3–1	Friendly

Individual

• UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2018–19
• UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: September 2018, January 2019
• Prix Marc-Vivien Foé: 2019
• Lille OSC Player of the Season: 2018–19