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Mikel Arteta admitted that striker Nicolás Pepe needs to “find consistency” before winning more starts for Arsenal under his leadership.
Pepe started and scored in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Irish minnows Dundalk at the Emirates on Thursday night, but has appeared in a Premier League lineup only once with Arteta this season, playing just 200 minutes. league football in all six of the Gunners. matches to date.
Arteta has repeatedly offered the public encouragement to Pepe on his potential at the club, but speaking to the media following an irregular performance by the Ivory Coast international in his Europa League win, he admitted his consistency would have to improve. before you are sure you have more minutes.
“He has not been the first choice in every game at the moment, but he has played a lot of moments,” he said. “Some have been better than others.
“It’s about finding consistency, not through matches, but also during matches to be more incisive and do the right things on many occasions when you have to make the right decision on the field.
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“It has nothing to do with his attitude. He is a player who takes risks, a very creative player, that is the most difficult thing in football, when rivals know what can be done, how much they want to avoid space and create situations “. of that is complicated.
“But sometimes it’s the simple things, the deliveries, the amount of situations that he is capable of creating or attracting and then making the right decision to continue evolving that phase of the game. For example, the shot, the position within the area, has make him more consistent on that. We’re working on that, and we hope he’ll do it much more efficiently. “
Arteta: We made it look easy
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Arteta insisted that Arsenal made life look easy against Dundalk despite registering just six shots on goal in 90 minutes and not testing Gary Rogers until the 34th minute, with his three goals in a four-minute quality blitz. on both sides of halftime. .
He said: “I think we made it look easy because we were very disciplined, we took it seriously and we did it from the beginning.
“We have seen in other games what can happen if you are not 100%. We made many changes, we gave many opportunities to players who deserve it and I think they did well.”
“We have a large squad and I wanted to give everyone opportunities, they have been patient and trained well. Today they showed that they are well prepared when we need them. They made things more difficult for the national team. I am very happy.” for their performance and how they reacted today. “
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