Revealed: The Arsenal flop Arteta tips to explode
Robin Bairner
- 19 Feb 2022 10:29 GMT
- 3 min read
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta finds himself short in several positions following a difficult January in which the club offloaded fringe players without replacing them.
They find themselves particularly short in an offensive capacity, where Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was offloaded to Barcelona after disciplinary problems at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal, though, have been boosted by the return of players from the Africa Cup of Nations, among whom is one man that Arteta believes is set to return to his best form.
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The Gunners have rarely seen the best of Nicolas Pepe since he joined in a record move from Lille, yet the Spaniard says that could be about to change.
“Since he has come back, I have seen a different Nico,” he said.
“I don’t know what it is, probably he has realised the importance of the end of the season for him.
His energy has changed. I think he felt important again. Probably he felt like a proper football player
- Mikel Arteta“His attitude, his smile, the way he is communicating with everybody, his energy. The way he has trained. His efficiency in training. His application.
“His energy has changed. I think he felt important again. Probably he felt like a proper football player that can win tournaments and felt: ‘OK, this is me now.’
“He needed that and I’m really pleased with that.”
Arteta on Pepe’s future
A lack of playing time this season has naturally disappointed the attacker, which has put his future in doubt.
Arteta admits that the situation is delicate.
"I understand that when a player doesn’t play he is disappointed,” he said.
“Nico has been disappointed because he wanted to have more minutes, but hopefully he can play many more minutes and he can contribute to the team because he has the ability to do it.
“He had a brilliant end of the season last year. He can replicate that.
“We need him at his best because everybody is going to contribute. We are a really short squad at the moment and we need it and hopefully he has understood that we want to play him.
“I don’t want to have a player like him sitting on the bench and not using him and the moment I have chances I want to give him a chance.”
Arsenal face Brentford on Saturday, with Pepe set to form part of Arteta’s plans.
