Gone in January?
Arsenal’s club record signing Nicolas Pepe hasn’t made an appearance in the Premier League for almost two months and it appears unlikely that his game time will change anytime soon.
The £72.5million winger cut a forlorn figure on the substitutes bench throughout the match, only getting off his seat to warm up when called on by the Arsenal fitness staff.
Perhaps the biggest indication of Pepe’s standing at the club came when Eddie Nketiah was brought on to play on the left wing, after Gabriel Martinelli came off injured in the second half.
Nketiah has turned down two contract extension offers and is set to leave Arsenal when his deal comes to an end in the summer, yet Gunners boss Mikel Arteta clearly feels the England youngster is a better option than Pepe right now.
It does appear that the writing is on the wall for Pepe who will almost certainly be available for transfer in January, although questions remain over where he could go considering the hefty price tag and considerably high salary that comes with acquiring his services.
Isolated upfront
Another player who will see his contract expire next summer is Alexandre Lacazette. The Frenchman was completely isolated for the 85 minutes he spent on the pitch and showed his frustration during a break in play, as he shouted at both Ben White and Kieran Tierney.
Lacazette’s frustration will have almost certainly been with the fact that his Arsenal teammates struggled to get him involved in the game, and it was summed up when he mistakenly thought he was about to be substituted in the second half.
The former Lyon striker pointed at himself as he looked towards the bench before quickly realising it was only Martinelli who was being replaced - although it didn’t take long for Arteta to haul him off for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang soon after.
Only three Arsenal players have created more chances from open play than Kieran Tierney this season and Lacazette’s body language throughout the match certainly emphasised the lack of creativity in the final third.
It was a homecoming of sorts for Mikel Arteta who returned to his former club on Monday night.
The once Everton midfielder was also facing one of his former players in Fabian Delph, who Arteta previously managed while assistant coach at Manchester City.
However, when Delph attempted to engage in a warm greeting to Arteta as he went to warm up, the Spaniard completely blanked the defender and maintained a clear focus on the game in front of him.
Arteta’s razor sharp focus was on display throughout as he took advantage of breaks in play to give instructions to his players, and he looked dismayed by what he saw in the final few minutes of the game as Everton secured the three points with a Demarai Gray wonderstrike.
