Mikel Arteta has praised Nicolas Pepe’s hard work after his resurgent form continued in the loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Ivorian made it two goals in his last three Premier League games with a stunning solo effort which saw him curl the ball past Rui Patricio in the Wolves goal.
Speaking ahead of the clash with Aston Villa, the Spaniard claimed the winger has improved in a lot of areas after Tuesday evening’s loss.
Arteta said: “Even when we made decisions not to play him, he kept working hard. He has improved in a lot of areas and has been much more consistent for 90 minutes. He’s a threat at the moment because he’s been scoring goals, he’s been assisting players, he’s been a real threat. He needs to continue doing that.”
Should Pepe start against Aston Villa?
Yes
No
After proving inconsistent for the first 18 months of his stay in north London, Pepe is starting to look like the player the Gunners spent £72m on.
His improvement on the left-wing, albeit in the absence of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, has been nothing short of brilliant with Arteta’s men now looking dangerous from both wings.
Against Nuno Espirito Santo’s men, the attacker was on top form especially in the first half where the north London giants dominated. The 25-year-old had the most shots on target and completed the second-most dribbles as he caused havoc out wide.
However, as pointed out in a x, consistency is now the key for a player who has been off the boil far too often since joining the club in 2019. It’s nice to see the Ivory Coast international has earnt the trust of Arteta, who has finally given the £36m-rated ace.
In other news, Arsenal are battling two Premier League sides for a European defender.
