Former Arsenal captain Robin van Persie has told Nicolas Pepe how he can hit the next level at the club, following his starring performance against Manchester United.
The Gunners' club-record signing was named in the starting line-up for the first time under Mikel Arteta and repaid his manager's faith by scoring the opening goal of the game in the first half.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos then doubled Arsenal's advantage, as the North London side held on to start the new decade with a superb performance and their first win under their new boss.
Pepe's performance caught the eye, as he caused Luke Shaw plenty of problems up against the England international, but there is still much more to come from the Ivorian.
Issuing his verdict after the match, Van Persie told Pepe he must be more alert when he does not have the ball to become more of an asset to his team.
“With Pepe, he played really well and I do believe that he can go one level up if he makes those runs in the final third,” he told BT Sport.
“Because now, sometimes when the ball crosses from the other side, he's still enjoying the moment and watching the game.”
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand backed Pepe to fulfill his potential though, pointing out the impact that Arteta can have on his career.
“He's still young, it's youth. I think he's got time to work. I think it's been well documented in the media over the last few days how much influence Arteta had on the likes of Sane, Sterling, young wingers, and Pepe falls into that category.”
