Tony Adams admits he did not agree with Arsenal's decision to buy Nicolas Pepe last summer, insisting the £72million the Gunners paid Lille could have been better spent improving other areas.
Ivory Coast winger Pepe has shown glimpses of his quality since his move to north London, scoring eight goals and providing nine assists.
But Arsenal's record signing has not yet matched the prolific output he produced in France, with his final season at Lille bringing 23 goals and 11 assists.
And Adams believed the Gunners should have looked to their next generation of attacking talent rather than sign the 25-year-old.
"I was very against Pepe to be honest with you because we had [Bukayo] Saka coming through, we’ve got Eddie [Nketiah], Reiss Nelson, [Gabriel] Martinelli," Adams told Stadium Astro.
"We’ve got a lot of kids that need to play and to go and buy [Pepe for] £72million, I thought it could have been used in different areas."
Pepe scored a spectacular, curling strike in Arsenal's first game back after the restart, the 2-1 defeat at Brighton last month.
He also teed-up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with an inch-perfect cross to put the Gunners ahead in the 2-0 FA Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City last weekend.
But Pepe is without a goal since 28 June and his performances drew criticism earlier in the season from another former Arsenal player, Jeremie Aliadiere.
“I saw what he did with Lille last season and he is an amazing player. So, I’m not denying his talent," Aliadiere told Goal.com.
“What I’m seeing, though, is the most expensive player in Arsenal ’s history and even if you don’t want to think about the money, the fact is that money is, unfortunately, a big thing in football.
“And when you spend that much money on a player, you expect more goals and you expect more assists.”
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