Is the time now for Pepe?
After his sending off at Leeds on the weekend meaning he will miss the next few games in the Premier League. There really only was one striker that would definitely be getting his place against Molde on Thursday night and for once he didn’t disappoint!
Nicolas Pepe has come under a lot of criticism since he joined us, I have been one of those that have thrown the criticism his way many times, but last night he had a solid performance to say the least. If only he was more consistent then it could be said that we are finally seeing the worth of the price tag!
Speaking to the Arsenal website, Mikel Arteta was also delighted with the way Pepe has bounced back so far but he expects him to be more consistent than what he has been so far, stating: “I am really pleased. 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. 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. Today is the example of the level he needs to hit, and he needs to keep doing it because he is capable of it and 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.”
He scored a lovely opening goal that we know he is capable of and even threatened numerous times during a lively display as we ran out 3-0 winners. The only worry is that he very rarely scores more than one goal per game.
But if he keeps this type of performance up in all competitions then I am sure he will go from zero to hero very quickly! Gooners?
Shenel Osman