Nicolas Pepe's Arsenal career has been full of ups and downs after his club record move from Lille.
The winger joined the Gunners in a deal worth up to £82 million last summer, with the north London side beating off competition from clubs across Europe to secure his signature.
After Unai Emery's side narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification by a point last season, the Ivory Coast international's arrival was expected to provide the necessary firepower to get the Gunners over the line this time around.
But throughout the season, Pepe has only been able to show flashes of his ability in games and his inconsistencies have mirrored the side's league position.
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is someone who is well aware of the challenges that a young player faces when moving to England.
The former Gunners striker moved to north London in 1999 from Juventus, and despite going on to score 175 times in 258 Premier League appearances for the north London club, the Frenchman initially struggled to cope with the demands of the top flight.
Speaking to Yahoo Sport in November, Henry jumped to Pepe's defence and urged supporters to give the winger more time to adapt at the club.
"When you arrive like that, you're always going to be talked about, and people are always going to target you," Henry said.
"He needs to make sure he doesn't listen to that and go out and perform. People need to forget about the price tag. He didn't ask to be bought for that amount of money himself.
"It’s not always easy to arrive in a team, adapt to a new style of play. The Premier League, as we know, is not the same as the French League or any other league, by the way. So he needs to adapt to that. We need to give him time."
Henry's message was echoed by Tottenham head coach Jose Mourinho, who previously backed Pepe to be a key player for Arsenal in the right system.
"Last season after I left United, I went a few times to Lille because my friend is the coach there [Christophe Galtier] so I know quite a lot about his qualities," Mourinho said on Sky Sports at the beginning of the season.
"They were playing 4-4-2 and he was the right sided player. He knows how to defend, to play in the 4-4-2 as the right winger, you know how to defend, not only that area but also the inside.
"He does that very well. When he has the ball and also without the ball, he is very effective and very direct.
"The goals that he misses against Arsenal, he normally doesn’t miss it. He’s very cool in front of the keeper and I think this boy has fantastic potential.
"To play as they did last weekend against Liverpool, was out of his natural habitat.
"If they are to play three in midfield with him, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the front, looking to the movements, I think they can make it a real force."
