Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta sends Nicolas Pepe strong message – ‘Now it’s about performance’

Arsenal: Arteta hails youngsters as they ease through

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The 25-year-old was signed for a club-record £72m from Lille in August 2019 but struggled to make an impact in the Premier League. However, a stand-out performance in the 4-0 thrashing of Slavia Prague on Thursday night to book Arsenal a place in the Europa League semi-final against former manager Unai Emery’s Villareal side was the culmination of months of work from Arteta and his staff to build up the Ivory Coast international’s confidence.

“Nico has this ability – it depends on him, we can help him as much as we want but he needs to have the right mindset and consistency to do what he can do,” the Arsenal manager said.

“Because that is the level that we are going to ask of him, the level I am asking of him – if it is something below that he is not going to play but if he does what he can do he will have a big chance to play because he has got incredible ability.

“He just needed to change his mindset. He needed a period of adaptation and that is gone now.

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“So we cannot rely on adaptation again, now it is about performance and he can do it.

“He has got the players to support him, a manager that trusts him, he has got all the staff that are willing to help him and all the team-mates who really like him because he is a really likeable character so there are no excuses.”

If this is really the emergence of the real talent that Pepe possesses, the timing could not be better with club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang still fighting off the last vestiges of malaria.

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He is unlikely to be well enough to face Fulham tomorrow but should be fit for what has become the sole focus of Arsenal’s season – the Europa League.

The first leg in Spain is in 12 days’ time and Arteta says he is itching to be back in plenty of time.

“Let’s see how he recovers,” he said. “Obviously when you get a disease like this it can take a bit for the body to feel in good condition to the extreme condition we put the body through in our sport.

“But he wants to come back very quickly, he is looking forward to being back with the team so let’s wait.”

The presence of Emery in the opposite dugout is bound to add some spice to the occasion, but the former Arsenal boss is adamant that as far as he is concerned his focus is entirely on winning the competition and claiming the Champions League place Arsenal are also fixated on.

“Breaking the barrier of the semi-finals is the great challenge,” he told Spanish newspaper Marca. “The idea of reaching the Champions League through the Europa League is important. This competition is becoming more and more important.

“My past at Arsenal is less important.”

PROBABLE TEAM (4-2-3-1): Leno; Bellerin, Holding, Gabriel, Xhaka; Elneny, Ceballos; Pepe, Martinelli, Saka; Lacazette.

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