Alan McInally has said on Sky Sports News (5:30pm, December 26, 2021) that Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe struggled to make an impact against Norwich City.
The Sky Sports pundit has noted that Pepe could not do much of note after coming on as a substitute for Arsenal against Norwich on Boxing Day.
Mikel Arteta’s side got the better of Norwich 5-0 away from home at Carrow Road in the Premier League on Sunday.
Former Aston Villa striker McInally was following the match for Sky Sports, and he was not impressed by Pepe.
However, the pundit did praise Arsenal attacker Bukayo Saka, who scored two goals.
McInally said about Saka: “He was really good. Listen, I think most of us would think Brandon Williams has a future as a footballer at full-back or wing-back, wherever he is going to play. He had a hard time against Bukayo Saka today because Saka never finished.”
The Sky Sports pundit added: “I don’t think Pepe had a kick.”
How did Nicolas Pepe play for Arsenal?
In our view, Pepe did relatively well, especially when you consider that the winger came on for Arsenal in the 78th minute.
Arsenal had pretty much won the game by then.
The Ivory Coast international winger set up fellow substitute Emile Smith Rowe for his goal.
Pepe took one shot which was not on target, had a pass accuracy of 57.1%, won four headers, and took 15 touches.
The 26-year-old is not guaranteed a place in the Arsenal starting lineup, but he is a good option to have on the substitutes’ bench.
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