Nicolás Pepe has been told that his pace of work must improve dramatically and that he must stop “wandering” in games, with the brilliant displays of another Arsenal star showing him exactly what to do.
The Ivorian winger joined the Gunners on a club-record £ 72 million contract since Lille in the summer of 2019. Now, in his second season with Arsenal, he scored his twelfth of the season. when West Brom was defeated to confirm his relegation. That covers a difficult week for the Gunners, who missed the Europa League final after a tepid draw with Villarreal.
Pepe’s goal, to be fair, was good. He cut in and fired an unstoppable shot into the top corner from the edge of the area.
But Joe Cole, in his role as the BT Sport expert, says there wasn’t much more to offer than Pepe. He wants the Ivorian to stop disappearing in games. Cole also says that he can learn a lot from Gunners star Bukayo Saka.
“Play stumbling and start Pepe,” Cole said on BT Sport.
“We have a wide angle here and we were looking at it, and it was so lackluster.”
Looking at Saka’s display on the other side, Cole said the young man shows Pepe exactly what is needed.
“Compare it to Saka on the other side who was full of energy and vibrant.
“Pepe was wandering around, after 30 minutes we wondered what he was on the pitch for. But he has the quality and that’s why you pay £ 70 million for him because he can do things like that. You just need to see it more often.
Saka’s display also won praise from Mikel Arteta after the game, who says that the young star gives him “a lot of joy”.
“Looking ahead, we know that Saka is a threat, she gives you something unique,” Arteta smiled.
“He adapted. We thought we were going to attack against them and it made us very happy.
“We will try to win every game and we will see where we end up. The only thing we can do is win our games.
Cole also admits that he likes what he sees in Saka. He also praised another young gun, Emile Smith Rowe.
Cole added: ‘[Saka] it was excellent, it was a thorn in the side. His move was fantastic.
“He’s so direct, he drives in areas and passes out all the time. He has been Arsenal’s best player by a mile.
“Running constantly from the outside to the inside. Smith Rowe, lovely move, this is what Arteta wants.
“A little movement, swapping around the box.
«This is a great vision [from Saka]He lifts his head and pulls it out, and what a Smith Rowe ending.
«They two were the [shining] lights for Arsenal. The two boys have really stood up tonight.
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Smith Rowe praises Arsenal’s future star partnership
Smith Rowe was also happy with Arsenal’s display and admits he is playing with Saka.
“We started a little slow, our heads have been down for a couple of days. It was important for us to recover, ”he said. “I felt that we entered the game in the second half and we are very happy with the three points.
“It has been a dream to play for this club and finally score my first goal, it couldn’t be better.
“It has been a difficult week but happy to get the three points. It has been very difficult for us as a team, it is not pleasant to lose in the semi-final of a tournament, it is important to keep our heads up.
When asked about how much he enjoyed his budding association with Saka, the young man added: “So much, I told him before that he had to help me, I have assisted him several times this season. It was good to get the goal together.
“We are all going to fight for each other to the end.”
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