Arteta Delighted With Improvement In Pepe’s Performances

Arsenal forked out a mammoth club record £72m to sign Pepe from French Ligue 1 outfit Lille in the summer of 2019 but the Ivorian international has not had the impact many expected from him at the Emirates Stadium.

He hit a new low with a red card against Leeds United back in November but Pepe has since turned a corner when given his chance.

Four of Pepe’s eight starts in the Premier League this season have come in Arsenal’s last five games and he has chipped in with two goals in that run.

Ahead of Arsenal’s Europa League round of 32 clash with Benfica on Thursday, Arteta took some time out to praise Pepe for his recent form.

"The fact that we have the Europa League gave the opportunity to almost everyone in the squad to be fit and available and compete for their place," Arteta told reporters.

"[Pepe] has had some really good matches and scored some important goals as well and I think that has helped him for the Premier League form and the recent form that he's shown.

"I've seen a lot of things, in his mentality, the way he approaches every training session, in his understanding of the game as well.

"It's true that he has patches where he's played more than at other times. He has had the opportunity over the last couple of months that probably every player has been seeking to have but I think overall there is a lot of progress with Nico."

Pepe has scored seven goals in 27 appearances for Arsenal this season.