Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was fascinated with Nicolas Pepe’s reaction, with the Ivorian taking a leading role as in the Europa League the Gunners beat Molde just a few days after being sent off for abusive conduct with Leeds in the Premier League draw.
For his chances under Arteta, Pepe’s red card seemed to do no favors. Just his second league match of the season began with the £ 72m record signing and the Arsenal manager was not consistent enough to deserve further chances, he said earlier.
But at the first chance, Pepe, not suspended for European games, was granted another start and repaid his manager’s confidence in Norway’s 3-0 draw. The former Lille winger scored in the third match of the Europa League in a row in which he found the net.
“After the disappointment of something negative, you want to see a reaction and I could see from the first minute with his body language that he was ready to act,” Arteta said on a press conference.
“I think he had a great performance, he scored one goal and could have scored another one or two. He created some good moments in the game and worked really hard for the team, so I really like it, I am pleased with that.”
“We all know what his level, and all the time the question is how often he can get to that level and how he contributes to other aspects of the game.”
“This is the example of the level he needs to hit, and he needs to keep doing it because he is capable of it. You can see that every time he gets in those positions in the final third, he is a real threat and a very difficult player to control because he can go with his feet, he can come inside, he can shoot, he can create crosses and he can go in behind you as well. That is what we can expect from him.”
