Freddie Ljungberg has suggested that Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe is actually a very good penalty taker on BT Sport.
Pepe scored a crucial goal from the spot on Thursday evening, as Arsenal scored an away goal against Villarreal in a 2-1 defeat in the Europa League.
With Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette off the field, Arsenal fans could be forgiven for feeling nervous when Pepe stepped up to shoot from 12 yards.
The Ivorian can be a slightly erratic finisher, and is not a regular penalty taker.
But Ljungberg never had any concerns, with the former Arsenal manager knowing just how reliable the wide-man is from the spot.
“I’ve seen him taking penalties in training as well. And he’s very good at them. I was sure he was going to score,” he said.
Up until the point when Pepe scored for Arsenal, the Gunners had largely been abject in the contest.
However, the goal gives them hope that a comeback could be staged.
Pepe was arguably Arsenal’s brightest player on the night, as his runs constantly created problems for the Villarreal defence.
And it will be interesting to see whether his performance proves to be enough to keep him in Arsenal’s starting line-up for the second-leg of the tie.
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