Mikel Arteta explains how Nicolas Pepe hit his best form at Arsenal

Arteta and Pepe deep in discussion at London Colney
Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Mikel Arteta believes Nicolas Pepe is in the best form of his Arsenal career, and has explained how guidance and clarity has helped the winger get there.

Pepe has struggled at Arsenal since joining from Lille in the summer of 2019 for a club record fee of £72million.

The winger, however, has begun to find his feet recently and he scored against Wolves on Tuesday in a 2-1 defeat.

That was the third time in a row Pepe had scored in an away Premier League game and Arteta admits this is the best he has seen the 25-year-old perform in an Arsenal shirt.

“Well if you ask me personally what I think of the performance that he put in overall, in all the phases of the game, I think it is the best he has played,” he said.

“His contribution to those aspects is the best that he has done and he needs to sustain that.

“When you have momentum in football when you have to earn the right to play, then you can not lose it.

“In order to do that you need to do the basics right and keep doing what you are doing. If not you know that someone else will be knocking on your door.

“I don’t know how much he wants but he needs guidance. And he needs clarity in what he needs to do. And then he needs the discipline on the pitch to do what he needs to do.

“And obviously he needs the freedom in certain moments to express himself as a player. You can not restrict that for sure.”

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