Nicolas Pepe disappointed on his debut for Nice as manager Lucien Favre criticised his side for showing ‘tiredness’ in their 3-0 defeat to Marseille on Sunday.
The Ivorian international left Arsenal to join Nice on a season-long loan last week, despite initially joining the Emirates for a club record fee of £72million back in 2019.
Ex-Gunners star Alexis Sanchez scored twice and Nuno Tavares, who is on loan from Arsenal, netted once to fire Marseille 3-0 ahead at half-time, as Nice struggled to defend against the current Ligue 1 table toppers.
Slipping to 18th in the division, Favre expressed his disappointment after the match, criticising his players’ lack of energy following their Europa Conference League outing on Thursday.
‘We’ve already discussed this (internally),’ the Nice boss told reporters after the match.
‘Tiredness was there, we had extra time (during the Conference League qualification play-offs), there are players who ran 17km, I understand (their fatigue).
‘But we cannot put that as an explanation for his tiredness. We have to be ready, be professional. Ball recovery is essential in all professional sports.’
Following his blockbuster move from Lille three years ago, Pepe struggled to impress at the Emirates, scoring just five league goals in 31 appearances during his first year at the club.
The winger managed to double his goal tally the following campaign, netting ten times in the Premier League under Mikel Arteta.
But one goal in 20 league matches last season prompted Arsenal to send Pepe out on loan…
