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Arteta emphasizes €80m man Pepe’s ‘need’ to succeed at Arsenal

Nicolas Pepe - Arsenal
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The Ivory Coast international is yet to prove himself at the Emirates as he continues to falter under the weight of his heavy price tag.

Mikel Arteta is confident that Nicolas Pepe can succeed at Arsenal and says the player needs an extended run of games to show his true worth.

Pepe is in his second season with the north London side, having been snapped up for a club-record £72 million fee from Lille in the summer of 2019, but still hasn’t quite settled in the team.

Struggling to make much of an impact, he has made just four Premier League starts this term.

The Ivorian winger put in another forgettable display when given the nod by his manager in Saturday’s FA Cup third-round outing against Newcastle United and was eventually subbed-off in extra-time.

“We need to help him to (succeed),” Arteta said in defense of Pepe, as Sky Sports reports. “In order to do that he needs minutes, he needs consistency in the team and when he has that, he needs to show he is capable of doing it. Let’s see how the next few months develop.”

“I think it is hard to make judgment on some players that haven’t played many minutes over the last two or three weeks and to throw them in and expect them to be the best player on the pitch.”

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