Arsenal fans judged price tag, not my football - Pepe

Nicolas Pepe has come to terms with his Arsenal exit and the price tag that warped perceptions around his performances, but admits "it wasn't easy".

When people mention the Ivory Coast international, now 29, the then club-record £72m fee to sign the winger from Lille soon follows.

And it is a number, Pepe admits, he struggled to handle.

"It wasn't easy at all. And the fans weren't happy with how I was performing," he told BBC Sport.

Arsenal signed Pepe in 2019 after a sensational season with Lille, during which he scored 23 goals and managed 12 assists, but he never approached the same strike rate in England.

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