I'd watched a lot of Lille that season and, without being disrespectful, he wasn't yet at a level where he merited that sort of money. Even at 24, he was still very raw.
If Arsenal had paid maybe £30m with add-ons and gradually let him fulfil his potential, that would have been about right. But when you're paying club-record fees, there's no time for settling in.
You're expected to hit the ground running and you're branded a flop if you don't.
That's why, for me, Pepe's failure at Arsenal wasn't really a failure. It was just that the transfer fee created unrealistic expectations around what he could deliver.
Another similar example is Rhian Brewster, who joined Sheffield United from Liverpool for £23.5m in 2020.
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