{"id":22699,"date":"2020-11-12T20:59:30","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T17:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arsenaltruefans.com\/?p=22699"},"modified":"2020-11-12T20:59:30","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T17:59:30","slug":"nicolas-pepe-speaks-about-being-benched-and-sends-a-message-to-arteta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arsenaltruefans.com\/2020\/11\/nicolas-pepe-speaks-about-being-benched-and-sends-a-message-to-arteta","title":{"rendered":"Nicolas Pepe speaks about being benched and sends a message to Arteta"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arsenal’s \u00a372m record signing has opened up on his limited playing time this season, admitting that he is frustrated and unhappy.<\/p>\n

Manager Mikel Arteta has opted to start Willian ahead of him in the Premier League. With Pepe’s chances of playing limited to substitute appearances and Europa League matches.<\/p>\n

Pepe has started only one game in the League and has scored just a single goal though he has two goal in three Europa games.<\/p>\n

The Ivorian international hasn’t had the perfect start to life at Arsenal with mixed performances. He however contributed 18 goals plus assists last season and played a vital role in the FA cup triumph.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview with Metro<\/a> he expressed his frustration. \u201cMy goal is to play more. Have a little more playing time.<\/p>\n

\u201cA player who plays is happy. For me, I would like to play a little more to find a smile again.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe [Arteta] wants me to be 100 per cent focused during the 90 minutes of the match.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfterwards, I see during training that I will be a substitute the following weekend. But the coach speaks to me, he also has assistants who are there for that.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it is frustrating for any player to be on the bench.\u201d \u201cThe coach makes his choices. It\u2019s up to me to show him that I don\u2019t have that role.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe in action this season.(Photo by David Price\/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

It is questionable as to why Arteta would opt to start a 32 year-old free agent ahead of your 25 year-old record signing.<\/p>\n

Pepe is not in form and sometimes leaves fans questioning why the club spent \u00a372m on him but neither is Willian. Besides his impressive debut, Willian hasn’t contributed much.<\/p>\n

We will wait and see how Mikel Arteta reacts to this after the international break especially after poor performances from Willian and Lacazette in the previous game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arsenal’s record signing has expressed his unhappiness about his lack of playing time at the club this season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":20824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,486,302,544],"yoast_head":"\nNicolas Pepe speaks about being benched and sends a message to Arteta - Arsenal True Fans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Arsenal's record signing has expressed his unhappiness about his lack of playing time at the club this season.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arsenaltruefans.com\/2020\/11\/nicolas-pepe-speaks-about-being-benched-and-sends-a-message-to-arteta\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nicolas Pepe speaks about being benched and sends a message to Arteta - 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