The Beginning Of Nicolas Pepe’s Redemption

Many labelled Nicolas Pepe’s red card on Sunday as “the beginning of the end” of his Arsenal career, as it added to a pile of underwhelming performances in an Arsenal shirt. Tonight however, Nico showed exactly why that isn’t the case.

Not only did he finish tonight as the proud man of the match winner, he produced some pretty incredible numbers:

• Most touches (80)
• Most crosses (120
• Most touches in opposition box (11)
• Most take-ons completed (9)
• Most shots (6)
• Most chances created (4)
• Most shots on target (2)

One hell of a response from the man who cost Arsenal £72 Million.

Although he is banned for the next three Premier League games, Pepe will want to make the most of the opportunity that the Europa League is giving him, especially after Reiss Nelson’s promising performance too.

In a time where creativity and goals have become Arsenal’s biggest enemy, Nicolas Pepe showed how important he can be in turning their fortunes around. Since the start of last season, Nicolas Pepe has created the most chances for the gunners, despite never cementing down a run of successive games. Hopefully tonight is a turning point for the Ivorian, who has shown glimpses of quality, and we see him work hard to become a top performer for the club.