Arsenal’s new Nicolas Pepe must not start this season

Arsenal are back and once again favorites to win the Premier League.

It would have been easy for the Gunners to throw in the towel after losing 2-1 to Manchester City at the Etihad. In the same week, Josep Guardiola’s side were level on points.

But since then, Mikel Arteta’s side have once again been at the front of the pack. City have two games left, but Arsenal lead by six points. Will the pursuit pressure catch up with Citizen? Quite possible.

Arsenal’s win over Fulham on Saturday could be a turning point. Finally, finally, the front line opened fire again.

Arsenal’s attack gets back on track

The handbrake was finally released. It’s no exaggeration to say that in recent months this group of players has looked tired, lackluster and lacking the confidence they’ve worked so hard to build and maintain.

The Gunners were really struggling up front until they beat Fulham in an enthralling first half, scoring three unanswered goals. He hadn’t scored two goals in a game since the 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League. That was nine games ago.

Now, their fortunes have completely changed with the return of Bukayo Saka to the team. Saka has been below par this term and as a result his lack of quality in recent weeks has been a bit underestimated.

He proved on Saturday exactly why he’s still their best player. He left Raul Jimenez on deck in the build-up to the first goal, jumping over the Mexican and putting the ball on the plate for Victor Gyoqueres.

Gokeres probably played his best game in an Arsenal shirt. He supplied the second goal, holding the ball high and rounding the corner into the path of Saka, who scored his own goal.

It was his third goal since December. It has been a difficult campaign so far for the stand-in captain.

It was Gokeres who scored the decisive third goal. Leandro Trossard was also active on this occasion, getting the better of Timothy Castagne and delivering a cross for Arsenal’s number 14 to find the back of the net.

Like Saka and Gökeres, Trossard was phenomenal. It was a reminder of what he is capable of at his best. The Belgian may still be goalless in 2026, but he created two big chances on Saturday and converted all six of his dribble attempts. He has never scored more goals in a single game during his Premier League career.

However, such performances are definitely bad news for the club’s summer signings.

Arsenal’s new signing Pepe should not start this season either.

Oh, Saka, we missed you. What an amazing performance this was. He tied Fulham up and his work was so impressive that Arteta was able to remove his number seven at half-time and keep him for Atletico Madrid in midweek.

But the man who replaced him was once again absent from the race. Noni Maduku has been a polarizing figure since arriving last summer in a blockbuster £52m deal, but the differences between him and Saka were made clear on Saturday.

In truth, the former Chelsea winger has been a useful addition. Given Saka’s fitness, having a maverick-style winger like Maduke take his place would have been valuable. However, his performance is not better than Ethan Nwaneri’s last season. In fact, it pales in comparison.

Nwaneri came on as a substitute for Saka last season and scored nine goals in all competitions. Joe Cole even compared him to Lionel Messi.

But this season he has fallen behind both Eberechi Eze and Madueke in the top rankings. While Eze is finally showing Arsenal colors, Madueke is not.

Coming from a similar background to Nicolas Pepe, he is a tricky winger with a languid style of play, much like the Ivorian. The problem is that, like one of Arsenal’s biggest signings in history, Maduke hasn’t been able to generate much production from the right flank. He was worse than the aforementioned Nwaneri last term. He’s definitely even worse than Pepe.

The 24-year-old has only scored seven times this season, with only two of those coming in the Premier League. He also recorded four assists. Only one of them has top-level activity.

Compared to the slopes, there is a difference between day and night. Saka is a true world-class talent. Madueque Island is far from that.

In this weekend’s game against Fulham, the attacker failed to take a single shot and created just one big chance. He managed just nine passes and lost the ball every 2.4 touches. He lost four of his five duels.

Based on what we saw on Saturday, Saka just has to start every remaining game this season. Madueke’s signing is getting weirder with each passing week.