Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has launched a staunch defence of the club's record signing Nicolas Pepe following criticism of the former Lille man's early form in the Premier League.
Pepe has scored just one goal for the Gunners in the Premier League- a penalty against Aston Villa- and has also only contributed two assists, leading some to question whether he currently merits a place in the starting eleven.
Henry also struggled when he first joined Arsenal from Juventus in 1999, failing to score in his eight games, but went on to become the club's all-time top goalscorer with 228 strikes.
And speaking to Yahoo Sport Henry said Pepe must be given more time to prove his worth in north London.
"When you arrive like that, you're always going to be talked about, and people are always going to target you," Henry said.
"He needs to make sure he doesn't listen to that and go out and perform. People need to forget about the price tag. He didn't ask to be bought for that amount of money himself.
"It’s not always easy to arrive in a team, adapt to a new style of play. The Premier League, as we know, is not the same as the French League or any other league, by the way. So he needs to adapt to that. We need to give him time."
Henry believes that Pepe individually is not to blame, but rather the whole Arsenal team, who have all recently disappointed, leading to the Gunners slipping to eight points behind the top four.
"People like to highlight the player but if the team were playing a bit better, maybe he would be playing a bit better," Henry added.
"At the minute, it's not a Pepe thing, it's an Arsenal thing. Hopefully he and the team can get better so we can get in the top four again."
