Granit Xhaka says he and his Arsenal teammates are happy with Nicolas Pepe following another tough outing at Bramall Lane.
The Ivorian was one of the Gunners' better performers but his night will be remembered for missing a golden opportunity to put Unai Emery's side ahead in the first-alf.
Xhaka captained the side but was replaced by Alexandre Lacazette in an attempt to rescue a point.
"We are happy with him (Pepe)," the Swiss said in Arsenal's matchday programme.
"We didn't make a lot of chances to win the game. When we did, one of our better chances fell to Nico.
"I think in general he had a good game, he did a lot of things well."
When he was substituted for Gabriel Martinelli on 78 minutes, Pepe was actually coming into his own.
Moments earlier, he struck a free kick up and over the wall but Dean Henderson did well to pluck it out of the air. Connecting well with Lacazette, he got another shot off shortly after which whistled past the post
Despite this, Emery chose to pull Pepe, possibly to preserve him for the upcoming visit of Crystal Palace and Wilfried Zaha who was close to joining the Gunners in the summer.
The pair are already familiar with each other playing together for the Ivory Coast where in the latest international break, Pepe finished off an excellent move started by Zaha.
That goalscoring touch is something Xhaka believes will come soon for the 24-year-old.
"Of course, if you score, maybe the game changes," he added.
"Everything is new for him. In the last two or three games, I think he's improved a lot of things.
"He has worked very hard, in defence as well, he has the quality. Maybe at the moment he just needs a bit of luck."
