Arsenal legend Paul Merson has claimed Gunners winger Nicolas Pepe is 'out of his depth'.
Pepe has struggled for game time this season but he was given an opportunity in the Premier League last weekend when Arsenal took on Leeds United.
But instead of seizing his chance, the Ivorian winger was sent off for headbutting Ezgjan Alioski, leaving manager Mikel Arteta furious as he labelled the incident as 'unacceptable'.
Pepe did start and score the opener against Molde in the Europa League during the week as a rotated Arsenal side booked their place in the knockout stages with a 3-0 win, but former Gunner Merson has not changed his mind on the 25-year-old.
Merson told the Daily Star: "Nicolas Pepe looks out of his depth and he’s going to have to do it against much better teams than Molde to change my opinion.
“I can understand how he got sent off in the Leeds game. He’s been having a nightmare ever since he joined Arsenal and one Europa League goal in Norway won’t change that. He let his frustration get the better of him against Leeds and did something silly with the headbutt, because things haven’t been going well for him at Arsenal for months.
“He came in for £70-odd million. If they’d bought him for £20m nobody would be moaning. But the fee brings pressure, and he’s not been able to handle it. I watch him play and I don’t know what he brings to the table. But it’s not his fault Arsenal are struggling.”
Despite being left unhappy by Pepe's actions at Leeds, Arsenal boss Arteta actually defended his player this week, refuting claims the winger might have thrown away his Gunners career.
“Absolutely not, it’s not about that and I don’t like that type of statement,” the Spaniard said. “I will give Nico my full support all the time. He knows the things he has to improve but again we all know his qualities.
“He has some responsibility, and I have a lot of responsibility, to get the best out of him. I cannot fault his effort at all. There are certain aspects he can do better because he has the ability. But to say there is a threat to finish his career here, it’s not at all like that.
“With his ability I am going to be very demanding because I know what he can do and he needs to deal with that. It’s in his hands, honestly. I know what he can give us and it’s completely down to him.”
Pepe will miss Arsenal's next three Premier League games due to his red card, only eligible to play in the Europa League during his suspension.
