Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta’s Nicolas Pepe gamble is beginning to pay off after the Ivory Coast winger’s improvement in form.
Pepe endured a tough start to the Premier League season, which was derailed by his red card against Leeds United.
He struggled for form, and only managed to score once in his first nine appearances in the Premier League this season.
But Arteta changed things up recently, and opted to give the winger some minutes on the left wing instead of the right.
The Spanish boss changed his side around in order to improve the team’s form, with Emile Smith Rowe often playing through the middle with Bukayo Saka on the right.
And the move seems to have paid off, with Pepe scoring in each of his last two starts in that position.
He scored Arsenal ’s only goal as the Gunners lost 2-1 against Everton before having a period out of the team.
When he was put back in, against Southampton, he slipped behind the defensive line and slotted home after out-muscling Yan Valery.
Arteta discussed his decision to shift Pepe over to the left wing after the Southampton game, which Arsenal won 3-1.
He expressed that he has faith in the club’s record signing to put his poor spell behind him and improve his form.
“It was more of what we wanted to do in attack and the spaces we wanted to exploit,” he said.
“We believed we could exploit some spaces there and he could be really efficient to do that.
“I think the other night he had a good game, he was involved in our best attacking moments and the way he had been training he deserved his chance and today he did his job really well.
“He was really good again. He created big moments. He deserved his chance today and he took it.”
