Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe has been mocked by rival supporters after claiming that he has not faced any "tough" defenders in the Premier League.
Pepe completed a summer move from Lille to the Emirates for a club record fee of £80million, but has struggled to rediscover the form which attracted interest from a host of clubs across Europe.
The forward was initially dropped by former head coach Unai Emery, before being restored to the starting line-up by Mikel Arteta in recent months.
And speaking to teammate Matteo Guendouzi, Pepe was asked to name the best opposition he has faced since his move to England in the summer.
But the 24-year-old appears to dismiss the standard of defenders he has come up against.
Answering questions in a quickfire Q&A session for the official club YouTube channel, Pepe is asked in French: "Who's the toughest defender you've played against?"
To which he replies: "Honestly, nobody."
His answer is somewhat surprising given Pepe has faced an array of excellent centre-backs and full-backs in the top flight, including Andrew Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Toby Alderweireld, Cesar Azpilicueta and Harry Maguire.
The winger has also only found the net once against a top six club all season, scoring in the 2-0 home win against Manchester United.
His answer attracted ridicule from supporters of rival clubs, who have mocked his record since joining Arsenal.
On the pitch, Pepe could be forced to win his place back after being dropped from the starting line-up for the goalless draw against Burnley last weekend.
The 24-year-old had started every game in 2020 across all competitions, but Gunners boss Arteta named the winger on the bench to accommodate the returning Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Speaking after the game, Arteta admitted his side found it tough after they were held to a fourth consecutive draw in the top flight.
"The conditions were difficult, the grass was this long and they didn't put any water on it, and that's not a very helpful thing to play football.
"I didn't water the pitch yesterday at the training ground because I expected it, but that doesn't make it any easier to play.
"They (Burnley) do what they do really well, and you are allowed to do it so we have to react to that.
"In some moments it wasn't the grass, it was their quality and what they do really well, and we could not do it in the right way."
