Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has hinted that Nicolas Pepe will continue in attack when the Gunners face Aston Villa on Saturday.
Pepe has scored three goals in his last four league starts and started to flourish after struggling to produce consistent performances since joining in the summer of 2019.
Arteta admits that the 26-year-old's level has improved recently and he's hoping to see more of the same when Arsenal face a tricky away test against Villa.
"He's a threat at the moment because he's been scoring goals, he's been assisting players, he's been a real threat. He needs to continue doing that," said Arteta.
"At the end of the day, we have to play the players who are in the best form and everybody has to earn the right to play and participate in the games. That's what everybody's doing, pushing each other to raise the level.
"You can see that the level has been raised because everybody is playing at their best. There's still room for improvement so everybody has to keep pushing."
The Gunners will be without Bernd Leno and David Luiz for the match at Villa Park with both players sent off during the defeat to Wolves.
Leno is likely to be replaced by on-loan goalkeeper Mat Ryan who has made a timely return to training following injury, whilst Pablo Mari is expected to replace the absent Luiz at centre back.
Kieran Tierney is still on the sidelines with a leg injury, which means Cedric Soares will continue at left-back.
Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey will continue their partnership in central midfield, with Bukayo Saka and Nicolas Pepe also likely to continue.
Arteta could decide to bring Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang back into the starting XI but it's more likely that Emile Smith Rowe will continue in support of the in-form Alex Lacazette upfront.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Ryan; Bellerin, Holding, Gabriel, Cedric; Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Smith Rowe, Pepe; Lacazette.
