Tim Sherwood compares blasts Nicolas Pepe penalty situation

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Arsenal beat Aston Villa 3-2 on Sunday afternoon, with Nicolas Pepe on the scoresheet.

Ex-Tottenham Hotspur boss Tim Sherwood has told Optus Sport, as quoted by The Express, that he thinks Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang giving Nicolas Pepe a penalty against Aston Villa was like Sunday league football.

Arsenal took on Villa at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon, and were in trouble as they were a goal down to John McGinn’s opener, and a man down after Ainsley Maitland-Niles was sent off.

Matteo Guendouzi won a penalty which Pepe dispatched, and whilst Wesley put Villa back in front almost immediately, Calum Chambers and Aubemeyang struck to seal a 3-2 win for Arsenal.

Unai Emery may feel that his side got out of jail, and fans will be hoping for better, but at least Pepe is off the mark with his first goal since his big-money move from Lille this summer.

The Ivorian winger has shown real potential but has been lacking that bit of end product, so Aubameyang handed over penalty duties to Pepe just this once in order to get him his first goal.

The decision has been seen as a great bit of understanding to ease Pepe’s fears of a lengthy goal drought, but Sherwood isn’t impressed with what he saw.

Sherwood compared the situation to Sunday league football, accusing Aubameyang of going against the plan by giving up the penalty for his mate to score, which the likes of Harry Kane or Sergio Aguero wouldn’t do.

“I’m not happy with it,” said Sherwood. “Stick to the plan, you are the penalty taker, stick to the plan. You’re not a pub team, you’re not in the Sunday League where you think ‘I’m going to help my mate out, you can take this one because I’ve scored a few goals this year’. You’re behind in the game, you need that goal. Stick to the plan, the plan is on the board – Aubameyang takes penalties.

“And all of a sudden he just says to his mate ‘go on you have a go this time’. Unless he didn’t fancy it for whatever reason but don’t just give it to him because you want to give him a leg up and go on and get his career started at Arsenal – put the ball in the back of the net, let him create his own chances. Not a chance [Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero would do that]. I don’t want nice men, I want winners,” he added.