Arsenal are into the semi-finals after hammering Sunderland 5-1 on Tuesday night, with Nicolas Pepe playing a key role in the win.
The Gunners took an early lead through Eddie Nketiah before Pepe fired in number two.
Nathan Broadhead pulled one back for Sunderland, but Arsenal ran riot after the break with Nketiah turning in a Nuno Tavares cross.
The moment of the night came for the fourth goal. Martin Odegaard played a beautiful pass to Pepe, who nutmegged defender Denver Hume.
After his skill, Pepe found Nketiah who nonchalantly backheeled the ball in for his hat-trick.
Charlie Patino came off the bench to bag a goal on his senior debut, giving Pepe another assist to his name.
Mikel Arteta has to be happy with such a convincing win, and Pepe really took his rare chance in the Arsenal team.
Arsenal fans rave about Pepe
Pepe’s huge price tag has been hanging around his neck ever since signing from Lille in 2019.
This season has been tough for the Ivorian, making just five league starts. Pepe didn’t play at all in November and just once in December before last night.
Pepe took his chance though, bagging a goal and two assists to leave Arsenal fans impressed.
Fans took to Twitter to suggest that Pepe looked ‘different’ last night, believing he was playing with confidence.
Others suggested Pepe was ‘unplayable’, playing ‘out of his mind’ and turned in a masterclass to lead Arsenal to victory.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
