Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal were lucky to come away with a point after a disappointing performance against Leeds United on Sunday.
The Gunners weren’t great in the first half. The Whites could have easily been ahead at the break, but their end product was poor and Arsenal survived.
Arteta would have hoped for a better performance in the second half, but Nicolas Pepe made things worse. The Ivorian was sent off after headbutting Ezgjan Alioski, and the Arsenal boss was not a happy man.
He told BBC (18:47): “It is unacceptable. Unacceptable. At this level you cannot do it.”
“With 10 men it is a big disadvantage. I really liked the personality of the team when Pepe let the team down, how we stuck to do what we had to do and had a moment or two to win the game, but obviously, it makes it really difficult.” (Sky Sports)
Pepe’s reaction certainly was unacceptable. His red card gave Leeds a huge boost and they had a real go at Arsenal after the incident. Bernd Leno saved the Gunners on multiple occasions and the woodwork also helped keep the hosts at bay.
Arsenal’s players had to dig deep to get a point away from the game. They were surprisingly better after the sending off, and could easily have won the game had Bukayo Saka taken his chance.
Arteta will certainly take a point considering the circumstances. Pepe had to wait a while for a chance from the start in the Premier League. This was only his second start in the competition, but he fully blew the faith his manager had in him.
Pepe might have to wait a long time before he gets another start in the league. He will have to prove his worth in the Europa League, but considering how annoyed Arteta was, he might not get a chance against Molde on Thursday.
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