Aribim Pepple

Aribusitamunoipirim Emmanuel "Aribim" Pepple (born 25 December 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Inverness Caledonian Thistle, on loan from   club Luton Town.

He has previously played for Calgary Foothills, Cavalry FC and for La Liga side Getafe. He made his EFL debut for Grimsby Town during a loan spell in the 2022–23 season. Born in England, he has previously been called up to the Nigeria U17 and Canada U17 teams but failed to earn a cap whilst part of both squads.

Early life
Pepple's father was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria while his mother was born in London, England. He was born in Kettering, Northamptonshire in 2002. There he played for youth club Oadby Owls at age five. He moved to Calgary, Canada with his family at the age of five. In Canada, he played youth soccer with Eastside Memorial FC, later joining Calgary Foothills FC.

Calgary Foothills
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. In 2019, he joined the Calgary Foothills FC senior side in the Premier Development League, he made eleven league appearances for the Foothills, scoring three goals, and would score another goal in one playoff appearance.

Cavalry FC
On 9 August 2019, Pepple signed his first professional contract with Canadian Premier League side Cavalry FC until the end of 2020. On 10 August 2019, he made his debut as a substitute in a 0–0 draw against HFX Wanderers. 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. In November 2019, Cavalry would confirm that Pepple would return for the 2020 season.

In October 2020 Cavalry announced Pepple would join Premier League club Sheffield United on a two-week trial. Shortly after the conclusion of his time at Sheffield, he was invited to another Premier League trial, this time with Leicester City. 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.

Getafe
In March 2021, Pepple scored on his debut for Getafe's under-19 team.

Second spell at Cavalry
On 28 April 2022, Pepple returned to Cavalry FC for the 2022 season. In June and July he broke the Canadian Premier League record for longest goalscoring streak, with 6 goals in 5 matches. 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. 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.

Luton Town
On 2 August 2022, Pepple signed for EFL Championship club Luton Town for an undisclosed fee, returning to his country of birth.

Loan to Grimsby Town
Six days after joining Luton, he was loaned out to Grimsby Town for the 2022–23 season. The next day on 9 August Pepple made his debut for The Mariners, starting against Crewe Alexandra in a EFL Cup match.

Pepple's loan was terminated by Grimsby on 12 January 2023, with manager Paul Hurst saying "Bim hasn’t had quite as many chances as he would have wished but I’d like to thank him for his time and his efforts with us. You have to remember that it’s a big move, coming over from Canada to Luton and then he very quickly joined us on loan. He’s a young player that hopefully we’ve helped develop to a degree and there’s still a lot more development to come for him". He had made 15 appearances in all competitions, failing to score a single goal.

Return to Luton Town
On 7 February 2023, Pepple was involved in Luton's first team for the first time as he was named as a substitute against former team Grimsby Town in a 3-0 defeat in an FA Cup fourth round replay.

Loan to Bromley
On 18 August 2023, Pepple joined Bromley on loan for the 2023–24 season. On 31 October, he scored a brace in a 4-2 victory over Redbridge FC in the London Senior Cup. On 8 January 2024, he was recalled from his loan by Luton Town, following limited playing time.

Loan to Inverness Caledonian Thistle
On 1 February 2024, Pepple joined Scottish Championship club Inverness on loan until the end of the season.

International career
Pepple is 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. In October 2019, Pepple was then called to the Canada national under-17 team for friendlies against Argentina and Mexico.

Honours
Cavalry
 * Canadian Premier League Finals runner-up: 2019
 * Canadian Premier League (Regular season): Spring 2019, Fall 2019