ANTONY is at risk of being outperformed by Arsenal flop Nicolas Pepe’s debut season in England.
The Brazilian winger joined Manchester United from Ajax last summer for £85.5million but is yet to show his best form in the Premier League.
Like Antony, Pepe was signed for a large fee, £72m, but struggled to live up to expectations and was labelled the club’s ‘worst ever signing’.
However, when his stats are compared to the output of Antony, he did not do too badly.
In his debut campaign, Pepe played 42 times for the Gunners in all competitions, scoring eight goals and providing ten assists.
This works out to a goal contribution every 150 minutes that he played in the 2019/20 campaign.
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Pepe was able to do this during a turbulent time at the club which saw Unai Emery sacked.
Interim boss Freddie Ljungberg replaced the Spaniard and then current boss Mikel Arteta was appointed.
Whereas Antony has had the luxury of only playing for Erik ten Hag, who he also worked for at Ajax.
But he is performing well below Pepe’s record as he is averaging a goal contribution every 230 minutes.
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He has made 33 appearances in all competitions this season but has only scored seven goals and provided one assist.
While Pepe won the FA Cup in his first season in England, Antony could still top the Ivorian’s trophy haul.
There is one glimmer of hope for Antony as he has already picked up a winners medal as Man United won the Carabao Cup and the club are still competing for the FA Cup and Europa League.
However, it seems unlikely that Antony will match the stats Pepe was able to produce.
Pepe was deemed a flop at the club and is currently trying to rebuild his confidence while on loan at Ligue 1 side Nice.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
