Pépé began his senior club career with Poitiers in the Championnat de France Amateur 2. He signed for Angers in 2013, aged 18, and spent a season on loan at Orléans in 2015. He signed for Lille in 2017, and was named to the UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year in the 2018–19 season.[4] That summer, Pépé joined Arsenal for a then club-record fee of £72 million, and won the FA Cup in his debut season.[5][6]
He started his career originally playing as a goalkeeper for local side Solitaire Paris Est until he was 14 years old.[9] When his father Celestin, a prison guard, was transferred to Poitiers, Pépé began his senior career as an outfield player with Poitiers FC in the Championnat de France Amateur 2 (fifth tier) in 2012–13.[10]
Angers
Pépé signed for Angers in 2013, and spent his first season with the reserves in the CFA 2.
On 21 June 2017, Pépé signed a five-year deal with Lille, for a maximum transfer fee of €10 million,[15] after being signed by head coach Marcelo Bielsa who had scouted the player by watching footage of every Ligue 1 game he had played in for Angers, before scouting him in person.[16][17] Pépé described Bielsa as "special" and a "great coach".[18] He started the season playing as a striker after being converted into playing the position under Bielsa, before finishing the season under the new Lille head coach Christophe Galtier, playing as a winger.[19]
During the entirety of the 2017–18 Ligue 1 season, he was a regular in a Lille side that narrowly avoided relegation, missing only two games and scoring 13 times, including two apiece in away wins at Metz and Toulouse.[20]
On 15 September 2018, during the 2018–19 Ligue 1 season, Pépé scored a hat-trick, including two penalties, in the 3–2 away win over Amiens.[21] Days later, it was confirmed by club president Gérard Lopez that Barcelona were among several clubs that were interested in signing him.[5] On 14 April 2019, Pépé scored a goal and provided two assists in the 5–1 home win over Paris Saint-Germain.[22] He finished the 2018–19 Ligue 1 season with 22 goals, second only to PSG's Kylian Mbappé,[4] with 11 assists, and was named in the UNFPTeam of the Year and as the Lille Best Player of the season winning the Dogue de la saison award.[23][24][25]
Arsenal
On 1 August 2019, it was announced that Pépé had joined Premier League club Arsenal in a then club-record fee of €79 million (£72 million),[6] eclipsing the previous record of €62 million for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Upon signing for Arsenal, he was handed the number 19 shirt.[26]
Pépé made his Arsenal debut in a 1–0 away win over Newcastle United on 11 August, as a substitute for Reiss Nelson in the 71st minute.[27] His first start for the club came two weeks later in a 3–1 loss to Liverpool, in which he played the full 90 minutes.[28] He scored his first Arsenal goal, from the penalty spot, in the team's 3–2 home win over Aston Villa on 22 September.[29] He scored his first European goals in Arsenal's UEFA Europa League 3–2 home win over Vitória de Guimarães on 24 October, two free-kicks.[30]
On 1 January 2020, Pépé scored Arsenal's first goal in a 2–0 home victory over Manchester United, marking new head-coach Mikel Arteta's first win.[31] On 16 February, Pépé scored once and assisted twice in a 4–0 win over Newcastle United.[32] On 28 June, he scored his first FA Cup goal in a 2–1 away win against Sheffield United in the quarter-finals, giving Arsenal the lead in the 25th minute from the penalty spot.[33] On 1 August, he played the whole 90 minutes of the FA Cup Final match against Chelsea to win his first club trophy as an Arsenal player, contributing the assist for Aubameyang's second goal.[34]
On 22 November 2020, Pépé received the first red card of his career in a 0–0 away draw against Leeds United after clashing heads with Ezgjan Alioski in the 51st minute.[35] On 2 February 2021, he beat two defenders before scoring in a game against Wolverhampton Wanderers; that goal was later voted as Goal of the Month for February on Arsenal's official website.[36][37]
On 24 February 2022, Pépé scored his first goal of the 2021–22 Premier League season in a 2–1 win against Wolverhampton with an 82nd-minute strike, and was instrumental in the buildup of forcing an own goal in the 95th minute to cap a late comeback.[38]
Loan to Nice
On 25 August 2022, Pépé joined Ligue 1 club Nice on loan for the remainder of the 2022–23 season without an option to buy.[39]
Trabzonspor
Pépé moved to Süper Lig side Trabzonspor on 8 September 2023.[40] He departed Arsenal on a free transfer, having had one year left on his contract.[40]
On 24 March 2018, in a friendly against Togo in France, Pépé scored his first international goals in the first half of a 2–2 draw.[45] He followed it three days later, with another goal in a 2–1 win against Moldova in the same stadium.[46]
Pépé is known as a quick and skilled attacking winger who is comfortable on both flanks, but usually plays on the right wing cutting onto his left foot; he was also converted from playing in wide positions by former Lille head coach Marcelo Bielsa to play as a striker on either the inside or central channel.[19][49]
^"Cote d'Ivoire"(PDF). Confederation of African Football. 15 June 2019. p. 7. Archived from the original(PDF) on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.