📸 Former Gunner stuns the Emirates in pre-season friendly | OneFootball

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Alex Waite·6 August 2025

📸 Former Gunner stuns the Emirates in pre-season friendly

Article image:📸 Former Gunner stuns the Emirates in pre-season friendly

There was plenty of hype over Nicolas Pépé at the Emirates when he signed for Arsenal in a huge £72m deal from Lille in 2019.

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While the talented winger showed glimpses of promise during his time in North London, he struggled to compete over a difficult four-year spell and eventually left on a free transfer to Trabzonspor in 2023.

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The 30-year-old returned to North London with a bang on Wednesday, opening the scoring for Villarreal in a pre-season friendly. However, Pépé showed his class by refusing to celebrate his close-range finish.

Villarreal soon doubled their lead through Etta Eyong before Christian Nørgaard pulled a goal back late in the first period.

📸 Eddie Keogh - 2025 Getty Images

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