Unai Emery Says Nicolas Pepe 'Is an Amazing Player' Amid Arsenal Struggles

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has hailed Nicolas Pepe as "an amazing player" and backed the Ivorian to succeed despite a difficult start to his career at the Emirates Stadium.

Pepe signed for Arsenal from Lille in August for a club-record fee of £72 million.

He arrived with a stellar reputation after a 2018-19 campaign in which he netted 22 goals and provided 11 assists in 38 Ligue 1 appearances:

However, after seven Premier League appearances, he has only one goal—a penalty against Aston Villa in September—and he was unimpressive in Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Monday:

Emery, though, is confident Pepe just needs more time to find his best form:

"He needs to play, get confidence, know progressively better the other players. Every player needs time when they arrive here. Young players or players as important as Pepe. I was speaking with him and [Dani] Ceballos. The Premier League is a very strong competition. It is the best competition and the strongest competition in the world. Liverpool with Man City are the two best teams of the moment, they are very physical. 

"We need quality and the adaptation to play at that intensity. Because you need to think quickly, to move the ball quickly or keep the ball with strong intensity around you. We are in that process and Pepe, is the same. A lot of players when they came here, the first month, the first year it was not easy for them. But I am going to work with him. Pepe is an amazing player, I am sure he is going to be have a big career."

Emery added that being "under pressure is a positive," but he said the pressure on Pepe comes from being at a big club and needing to succeed, not because of his transfer fee or salary.

Pepe, 24, has shown flashes in his fledgling Arsenal career of how big an asset he could be for the club.

When he is confident, he can be devastating running with the ball, and his partnership with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette could flourish into one of the most effective in England.

Before the international break, the Gunners have two home games, against Standard Liege in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday and Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday. Both could be fine opportunities for Pepe to find his form, as it may simply take one goal from open play to open the floodgates.

It would be a big boost for Arsenal if Pepe could find his goalscoring touch given the Gunners are overly reliant on Aubameyang, who has scored seven of the club's 12 league goals in 2019-20.