Mikel Arteta urges Nicolas Pepe to deliver on potential at Arsenal
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Sunday 29 December 2019 14:41, UK
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has urged club-record signing Nicolas Pepe to produce on a consistent basis to deliver on his potential.
Pepe has admitted he has struggled to settle in English football since his £72m move from Lille in the summer, scoring four goals in 20 appearances.
Arteta started Pepe as a substitute for the 1-1 draw at Bournemouth - his first game in charge - on Boxing Day but was encouraged by the 24-year-old forward when introduced in the final 10 minutes at the Vitality Stadium.
Speaking about the Ivory Coast international, Arteta said: "Obviously, it was a big change for him from France to come here.
"As well he found a team that in that moment was not performing at the best. Probably, the environment for him to settle wasn't ideal.
"It isn't just about him, we are here to help him.
"If he is willing to learn, to work hard I am sure he has potential to be top, absolutely top. [Against Bournemouth] he showed in two or three actions already how good he can be. But he has to be consistent."
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Arsenal have won one match from their last 14 fixtures in all competitions and new Gunners boss Arteta concedes it will be a challenge to rebuild Pepe's confidence.
"The problem with the confidence is he is confident only if he plays or he is confident of the manager if he trains well enough to convince me that I have confidence in him," Arteta added.
"I think it has to be a mix between the two."
Arteta has received praise for helping to develop Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane during his time as Manchester City assistant coach and the Spaniard is determined to create a structure of play that will enable players like Pepe to thrive.
"The way that we play and the way we approach the game and the things we do on the pitch is going to help them," he said.
"We can't demand the strikers or the attacking players to generate things.
"They have to have the play that sustains everything together and to arrive in better positions as many times as possible for them to be able to create as many [goalscoring] situations as we want."
