Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says he is impressed with the way Nicolas Pepe has responded after taking a red card against Leeds United.
Nicolas Pepe got on the wrong end of the headlines after a needless red card against Leeds United this past Sunday.
The 25-year-old was sent off during the Gunners’ goalless draw at Elland Road after he butted heads with Leeds star Ezgjan Alioski.
Following that game, Arteta mentioned how that rash decision from Pepe was unacceptable and let his teammates down.
The Ivorian forward was sure to apologize about it all as well.
Arteta gave Pepe another chance to play in the Europa League and this time, he took his chance well.
The club’s record signing broke the deadlock against Molde on Thursday night in the 50th minute.
The Gunners went on to win the game 3-0 and also secured a spot in the Round of 32 with two games to spare.
After the game, Mikel Arteta spoke on Pepe responding well to his latest setback and how pleased he was about the player’s body language on the pitch.
“I am really pleased,” the Gunners’ boss said to the club’s website regarding Pepe.
“After the disappointment of something negative, you want to see a reaction and I could see from the first minute with his body language that he was ready to act.”
“I think he had a great performance, he scored one goal and could have scored another one or two.”
“He created some good moments in the game and worked really hard for the team, so I really like it, I am pleased with that.”
Pepe will miss the next three league games for Arsenal but his latest cameo will at least calm the negative that surrounded him over the past few days.
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