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The Ivory Coast international left his team with a short man for most of the second half after his header on Ezgjan Alioski
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has insisted there are no excuses for Nicolas Pepe’s red card and has accused the forward of disappointing his teammates.
The Gunners were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw at Leeds United on Sunday, but the main topic of conversation was Pepe’s dismissal.
Referee Anthony Taylor showed the Ivory Coast international a direct red card for a header on Ezgjan Alioski.
The contact was minimal, and Alioski made the most of it, but Pepe gave the officer a decision to make.
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Arsenal fans made their feelings known on Twitter, with some describing him as “brain dead” and that would appear to be an opinion shared by Arteta, who seemed decidedly unhappy with his player during his post-game interview with Sky sports.
“It is unacceptable,” Arteta said. “I have spoken with him; It is unacceptable “.
Arteta concluded her interview by saying that Pepe had left his teammates high and dry.
“I really like the personality of the team,” Arteta said. “When Pepe let the team down, how we suffered together and we stuck to what we had to do.”
Arteta has suggested that Pepe may have been a bit naive in reacting to what had become an ongoing battle with Alioski.
“We knew the level of intensity, aggression and how alive they are in each action and we have to be able to deal with that because it is part of the plan against this team,” Arteta told the club’s official website. “You have to be able to handle this situation.”
Reflecting on his team’s performance, Arteta felt a point was acceptable given the Gunners played most of the second half with 10 men.
“Considering how we got Pepe expelled, a draw is fine,” he said. “I never like to play for a draw, but under the circumstances, one point is fine.
“In the first 30 minutes we were more dominant and created a lot of problems. But then the game broke a bit and we gave the ball away in difficult areas.
“We suffered and in the second half we went early with 10 men and it was a matter of defending well and having patience, and using the rhythm of our players and the spaces they left.”
Bukayo Saka had a great game-winning opportunity for Arsenal by going beyond the Leeds defense, but was thwarted by a good save from Illan Meslier.
“It was the best chance of the game, but the goalkeeper did very well,” Arteta said. “Another day we could have won the game, but the reality is that they had a lot of threats in our area and we were lucky at certain times.”
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