Nicolas Pepe was the hero as Unai Emery’s Arsenal somehow beat Vitoria Guimaraes in the Europa League – can he repeat his heroics in the Premier League?
Vitoria Guimaraes coach Ivo Vieira claims that his side were the ‘moral victors’ despite their dramatic 3-2 Europa League defeat to Arsenal on Thursday while praising the travelling fans for silencing a rather sparsely-populated Emirates Stadium, in quotes reported by Mais Futebol.
The third game of the Europa League group stage will forever be remembered as the day that Nicolas Pepe finally made his mark as an Arsenal player.
The pressure has been growing on the £72 million record signing, particularly after he missed a sitter in Monday’s 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United, but the Ivorian silenced his critics with a match-winning cameo three days later.
Pepe scored two stunning free-kicks, including a brilliant curling shot in the 93rd minute, to drag Arsenal over the finishing line as Unai Emery’s below-par side somehow came from 2-1 down to win 3-2.
Vitoria deserved at least a point after a performance in which they ran Arsenal’s defence ragged and scored two excellent goals, one coming from ex-Tottenham youngster Marcus Edwards, but a fine display did not quell their manager’s disappointment.
“It is an unfair result. The team behaved fantastically and our fans silenced the Emirates. It felt like we were playing at home,” said Vieira after a game in which the empty seats reflected the frustration of the Arsenal fans.
“It was frustrating to lose. The moral victories are not enough. We could even have scored another goal or two.”
In truth, a win will do nothing to silence the critics wondering whether Emery is the right man to take this team forward. Arsenal lacked any sort of cutting edge throughout the match and it was only two moments of magic from Pepe, via a pair of dead-ball situations, that saved The Gunners from a second successive defeat.
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