Aribusitamunoipirim Emmanuel "Aribim" Pepple (born 25 December 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL League Two side Grimsby Town, on loan from EFL Championship club Luton Town. Born in England, he has been called to youth camps with Canada.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aribusitamunoipirim Emmanuel Pepple | ||
| Date of birth | (2002-12-25) 25 December 2002 (age 19) | ||
| Place of birth | Kettering, England | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team |
Grimsby Town (on loan from Luton Town) | ||
| Number | 23 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2012 | Oadby Owls | ||
| 2012–2019 | Calgary Foothills | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019 | Calgary Foothills | 11 | (3) |
| 2019–2020 | Cavalry FC | 13 | (0) |
| 2021 | Getafe | 0 | (0) |
| 2022 | Cavalry FC | 7 | (6) |
| 2022– | Luton Town | 0 | (0) |
| 2022– | → Grimsby Town (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 October 2022 | |||
Pepple was born in Kettering, Northamptonshire in 2002. There he played for youth club Oadby Owls. He moved to Calgary with his family at the age of five.[1][2]
Pepple joined the youth programme of PDL side Calgary Foothills at the U10 level, and signed for the first team in 2019.[1] That season, he made eleven league appearances for the Foothills, scoring three goals, and would score another goal in one playoff appearance.[3]
In October 2018, Pepple participated in the Canadian Premier League open trials in Calgary and was the youngest participant countrywide at 15, but nonetheless made the first cut after day one.[4][5]
On 9 August 2019, Pepple signed his first professional contract with Canadian Premier League side Cavalry FC until the end of 2020.[1] On 10 August 2019, he made his debut as a substitute in a 0–0 draw against HFX Wanderers.[6][7] Pepple would be described as "exactly what the Canadian Premier League is built for", and praised by coaching staff shortly after signing with the club for his physical and mental acuity.[8] In November 2019, Cavalry would confirm that Pepple would return for the 2020 season.[9]
In October 2020 Cavalry announced Pepple would join Premier League club Sheffield United on a two-week trial.[10] Shortly after the conclusion of his time at Sheffield, he was invited to another Premier League trial, this time with Leicester City.[11] In March 2021, Pepple would officially announce his departure from Cavalry via his Instagram, indicating that he had joined the youth side of La Liga club Getafe.[12]
In March 2021, Pepple scored on his debut for Getafe's under-19 team.[13]
On 28 April 2022, Pepple returned to Cavalry FC for the 2022 season.[14] In June and July he broke the Canadian Premier League record for longest goalscoring streak, with 6 goals in 5 matches.[15] On July 6, 2022 he was named the CPL's Player of the Month for June after becoming the first-ever player to score in five consecutive league matches. At the time he sat second in the league scoring race with six goals.[16] In July 2022 Cavalry confirmed that they had agreed to a transfer with an undisclosed club, rumoured to be Luton Town, indicating that he would leave the club during the transfer window.[17][18]
On 2 August 2022, Pepple signed for EFL Championship club Luton Town for an undisclosed fee, returning to his country of birth.[19]
Six days after joining Luton, he was loaned out to Grimsby Town for the 2022–23 season. [20] The next day on 9 August Pepple made his debut for The Mariners, starting against Crewe Alexandra in a EFL Cup match.[21]
Pepple's father was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria while his mother was born in London, England.[22] He was therefore eligible to represent Nigeria, England, or Canada after moving to the latter at the age of 5. He was called up to by the Nigeria national under-17 team in preparation for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup but ultimately decided to represent Canada.[23] In October 2019, Pepple was then called to the Canada national under-17 team for friendlies against Argentina and Mexico.[24]
| Club | League | Season | League | Playoffs | Domestic Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Calgary Foothills | USL League Two | 2019 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 |
| Cavalry FC | CPL | 2019 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 2020 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 6 | ||
| Total | 20 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 6 | ||
| Luton Town | EFL Championship | 2022–23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grimsby Town (loan) | EFL League Two | 2022–23 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Career Total | 40 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 47 | 10 | ||
Calvary FC
Grimsby Town F.C. – current squad | |
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