Arsenal vs Newcastle: 5 things to watch for in season opener

1. Will we see Nicolas Pepe?

Why am I even asking this?! Because Unai Emery said he wants to take it slow with introducing Nicolas Pepe, given his involvement in the African Cup of Nations. We did not see Alex Iwobi at all over the preseason, which means he probably won’t be seen in the opener either, and it worries me that we might not see Pepe either.

Fans were already peeved that Pepe was left out against Barcelona after completing his move, and that makes me think that, at most, we will see Pepe as a substitute. The likelihood of him starting, with his fitness in question following a busy summer, looks slim.

But even if we only see him for ten minutes, I am fully prepared to bet the house on him bagging a brace within 90 seconds of being on the pitch. (I don’t own a house.) Pepe is going to be a huge part of this season, even if he isn’t a huge part of the opener at St. Mary’s, so do the most un-Arsenal-fan-like thing you can do and be patient and be understanding. Pepe is coming, we might just have to wait a little longer.

The important thing, as mentioned, is that he’s here. He has a number. You can’t take that away from him. So even if he can only bag that one brace in the opener, we can expect more braces in the matches to come.