Mesut Ozil has returned from what seemed like exile recently to play 544 minutes, yet club record signing Nicolas Pepe has played just 148 minutes in that time. The former’s return has had a big impact on the latter’s opportunities, and it’s not pleasing some Gunners fans.
WhoScored have rated Pepe 7.17/10 for his contribution to Arsenal’s Premier League season so far, noting that he’s registered a passing accuracy of 84.8%, scored once and assisted twice. Ozil has a slightly better passing accuracy this season, on 87.8%, but Who Scored have only rated him 6.92/10, with him not directly contributing to a single goal in his five league appearances.
The club are without a league win since their 1-0 victory over Bournemouth on October 6th and many fans are understandably not pleased. When James McNicholas, Arsenal writer for The Athletic, posted a link to one of his articles assessing Pepe’s struggles so far this season, he mentioned his and Ozil’s recent playing time and some fans weren’t pleased. Many replied to express how annoyed they are that their £72m forward isn’t having more time on the pitch.
Since Ozil was reintroduced against Liverpool, the German has racked up 544 minutes of playing time.
In the same period, Pepe has managed just 148.
A piece on how the return of Arsenal’s biggest earner appears to have impacted upon their record signing.https://t.co/kI1UKfxWto
— gunnerblog (@gunnerblog) 4 December 2019
You can see some of their reactions to the tweet below:
It’s a disgrace
— julie atkin (@atkin_julie) 4 December 2019
And what has Ozil done in those mins? Absolutely nothing.
— Freddie FC (@Jackleo4Stein) 4 December 2019
Which is mad, because I genuinely feel like they need each other on the pitch.
— Lyle Shepherd (@TheLyleShepherd) 5 December 2019
Should bench Laca for Pepe. Play Auba in CF, Ozil behind.
— Filip (@psn_Stevic9x1) 4 December 2019
#Arsenal‘s problem starts and ends with #Ozil #Rinseandrepeat
— Abdullahi Halakhe (@QulshTM) 4 December 2019
Since Ozil came back Arsenal have won NO games.
— Wenger SACKED!! (@dodger_lane) December 4, 2019
Arsenal fans, what have you thought of Nicolas Pepe so far this season? Comment below with your views!
