- 30 Dec 2024
Nicolas Pepe tells Arsenal: I want more game time
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
- 2 min read
Arsenal attacker Nicolas Pepe has admitted that he has been “frustrated” with his inconsistent playing time under Mikel Arteta.
The forward moved to the Gunners from Lille for a club-record fee of £72 million in the summer of 2019 but has failed to hold down a starting place amid a succession of inconsistent performances.
The Ivory Coast international has insisted that he wants to feature more prominently and will not accept the role of a mere “super sub”.
‘I want to rediscover my smile’
“My aim is to play more, to have more game time,” he told Canal+. “A player who plays is a happy player. For me, I want to rediscover my smile.
“Mikel Arteta wants me to be 100% focused for the 90 minutes of the game. Then I see during training that I will be a substitute the following weekend.
“It’s frustrating for any player to be on the bench. The role of a super sub? The coach makes his choices. It’s up to me to show him so that I don’t have this role.”
While there has been no indication that Pepe wants out of Arsenal yet, it is a first stirring of discontent from the 25-year-old, who has struggled to live up to his billing since moving to the Premier League.
The beginning of the 2020-21 season has proven to be a particularly difficult time for the attacker, who has featured in seven of Arsenal’s eight Premier League matches but has started only their clash against Manchester City.
Although he has returned a single goal in these outings, his club-mates are not performing much better. Arsenal have scored only one goal – a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang penalty – in their last four outings, which have resulted in three defeats and the club dropping to 11th in the table.
In the Europa League, meanwhile, he has been a productive presence across the midfield area, grabbing two goals and two assists in three matches on the continent.
He has a contract at the Emirates Stadium that lasts until June 2024.
