I Was Traumatized At Arsenal, Almost Quit Football – Says Nicolas Pepe

Former Arsenal striker, Nicolas Pepe, has disclosed that his tenure at the English Premier League club was deeply traumatized.

The Ivorian player mentioned that he was on the verge of quitting the sport due to the intense verbal abuse he faced while playing for the Premier League North London team.

It’s worth noting that Pepe faced limited playing opportunities while under the management of Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.

Pepe was on loan to French Ligue 1 side Nice, and after his time there, Arsenal decided to end his contract.

The 29-year-old then moved on to play for Turkish club Trabzonspor.

Sharing his ordeal in a recent interview with L’Equipe, Pepe said: “I suffered a kind of trauma with Arsenal. It was as though they had taken away my passion for football.

“I felt disgusted by the game. I was no longer playing, and I asked myself why I was doing this job.

“I felt so many doubts and thought about packing it all in. I asked myself why people were attacking me so angrily.

“They went as far as calling me the biggest flop in Premier League history. But I refused to mope about it.

“I wanted something different when I left Arsenal last summer, and I didn’t care a damn about the money.”