Mikel Arteta better have a masterplan at Arsenal for the second half of the campaign.
Arsenal scored one goal from five outings in all competitions across January.
This is an area where Arteta really needs to demand improvement from the Gunners.
However, terminating Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s contract at the Emirates Stadium could be considered a massive gamble.
This is the quickest Arsenal player to reach 50 goals in the club’s history and although he was inconsistent for much of the past 18 months, he was still the North Londoners’ biggest threat going forward.
With Aubameyang gone, the Spanish manager – who didn’t sign a replacement – needs some inspiration from somewhere and maybe, just maybe, ushering Nicolas Pepe back into the limelight wouldn’t be a terrible thing.
The Ivory Coast international hasn’t started a Premier League game for Arsenal in four months, underlining his decline in influence under Arteta.
However, having set up five goals in all competitions this season, no player has bagged more assists in a Gunners shirt this season [BBC Sport].
This highlights Pepe could still be a major asset for the Londoners following a £72 million arrival in 2019.
What’s more is that five assists from 12 appearances across all competitions is suggestive of an end product that he has often been accused of lacking.
Let’s face it, Arsenal need massive inspiration from somewhere if they’re going to survive without Aubameyang and qualify for the Champions League.
And maybe, just maybe, Pepe could still have a big role to play for the second half of the campaign.
On his day, the former Lille winger is such a frightening player to come up against and hopefully for him – and Arsenal – he can remind people of that.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
