Angry Arsenal fans over £8m sanction bills, Thierry Henry in agreement over Nicolas Pepe,

Nicolas Pepe’s Arsenal career is yet to fully ignite since his club record move from Lille last summer.

The winger joined the Gunners in a deal worth £72 million, with the north London side beating off competition from clubs across Europe to secure his signature.

During his Arsenal career, Pepe has only been able to show flashes of his ability in games for Mikel Arteta after previously displaying his inconsistencies under former boss Unai Emery.

But Pepe scored Arsenal’s second goal in the 2-1 win over Sheffield United last weekend before the international break, and will be hoping to impress Mikel Arteta even further when the season resumes.

Off the pitch, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is someone who is well aware of the challenges that a young player faces when moving to England.

The former Gunners striker moved to north London in 1999 from Juventus, and despite going on to score 175 times in 258 Premier League appearances for the north London club, the Frenchman initially struggled to cope with the demands of the top flight.

Speaking to Yahoo Sport last year, Henry jumped to Pepe’s defence and urged supporters to give the winger more time to adapt at the club.

Arsenal sanctioned £8m Mesut Ozil deal that will anger fans

Arsenal’s failure to move on Mesut Ozil this summer has cost the club an extra £8million.

The German star is the club’s highest-paid player, but despite starting all 10 Premier League games under Mikel Arteta before football was suspended in March, he has not seen a minute of action since the restart back in July.

Arsenal were keen to move the World Cup winner on this summer, with him apparently having no future in the team under Arteta.

But that proved to be a difficult proposition with the star’s £350,000 per week wages amounting to a big stumbling block.

The club agreed to those wages back in January 2018, when both he and Alexis Sanchez had just six months remaining on their deals at the time.

Sanchez ultimately left for Manchester United, leaving the Gunners with the prospect of losing their two biggest stars cheaply.

But the Athletic report that one major reason the club were looking to move him on this summer is a huge loyalty bonus that he was due in September.

The club were apparently forced to pay £8million to the 31-year-old, though his recent lack of time within the first team has meant saving some money on his performance-related pay.

There are still a few options left open to Ozil should he wish to move on, with the American transfer window open for another two weeks – though it looks unlikely a move will take place.