Mikel Arteta has urged Nicolas Pepe to be more consistent as he continues to struggle since he joined Arsenal.
Pepe was signed by the Gunners instead of the likes of Wilfred Zaha in the summer of 2019, and he was expected to fire Arsenal into the top four.
While the Ivorian has been a fine addition to this Arsenal team and he has been a big part of what Arteta has achieved as the club’s manager, he is too inconsistent.
The former Lille man has the ability to be brilliant and in some games, he has scored wonderful goals.
But more often than not, he leaves his manager and the club’s fans frustrated at his inability to do the right thing like making the right pass in the final third or staying in the right position.
After Arsenal’s Europa League game against Dundalk last night in which he scored arguably the best goal, Arteta urged him once again to be more consistent.
‘He’s not been first choice in all of the games at the moment but he’s played a lot of moments,’ Arteta said via Mail Online. ‘Some have been better than others.
‘It’s about finding the consistency, not through the games but during the games as well to be more incisive, and do the right things on many occasions when he has to make the right decision on the pitch.
‘It’s nothing to do with his attitude. He’s a player who takes risks, a very creative player – that’s the most difficult thing in football, when the opposition know what you can do, how much they want to prevent the space, and creating situations from that is complicated.
‘But sometimes it’s the simple things, the deliveries, the amount of situations he’s able to create or attract and then make the right decision to keep evolving that phase of play.
‘For example, the finishing, the position inside the box, he has to be more consistent at it. We’re working on it, and hopefully he will be doing it much more efficiently.’
