Kieran Tierney and Rob Holding have been speaking about all things Arsenal on The Chat, where they made a claim about Nicolas Pepe.
What’s the story?
Well, the Arsenal duo did not hesitate to share how “horrible” it is to play against the £140,000-a-week man in training.
When asked who causes the most problems in training, Tierney said: “I’d say Pepe all day. I play against him every day and it’s a horrible experience. He’s good.”
Holding added to the Scotland international’s comments, and it’s clear to see that the pair find defending against Pepe very difficult indeed.
Speaking on The Chat, the Arsenal No.16 said: “Yeah it’s not nice. I wouldn’t want to play against him every day, one v ones against Pepe every day…”
Evidently, Pepe is a real livewire in training at London Colney.
With the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Ødegaard in the ranks, it speaks volumes that the Ivory Coast international tends to outdo them in training.
Arsenal must utilise Nicolas Pepe
For the majority of this season, Mikel Arteta has left Pepe on the bench, as he’s preferred to use Saka and Martinelli on the flanks.
For a player earning £140,000-a-week, who also commanded a £72m fee, the Spaniard has to use the 26-year-old more often.
As we saw against Wolves, Pepe can make an impact off the bench, and Arteta has to find a way of turning the Ivorian into a super sub if he is not going to start him.
After all, football at this level is a squad game – if Arsenal are too reliant on the starting XI, injuries or fatigue will creep in.
Similar to the way in which Jürgen Klopp has used the likes of Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi wisely, Arteta must find a way to get the most out of Pepe from the bench.
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