Arsenal: No one knows Nicolas Pepe better than Nicolas Pepe

Arsenal’s most expensive transfer of all time, Nicolas Pepe, has had to endure some stupid criticism, but he’s leveling with the masses now, and he would know.

In case you’ve missed my ongoing Nicolas Pepe narrative lately, let me summarize: Everyone who called him a flop in the early going of his Arsenal career is a fool who should admit they were wrong or, at the very least, admit that he is doing incredibly well these days.

Knowing that isn’t going to happen, I’ve taken to excessively praising him myself, in light of no one else doing it. I have been so impressed by his improvements and I find myself so excited every time he’s named in the starting XI because I know what he is capable of and what he’s been doing lately.

Still crickets elsewhere (Harry Maguire sure is great though) but in the end, what matters is that Pepe is figuring things out and he is still improving. And there is still so much room to get better.

Take it from the man himself. No one is a better judge of their own standing than himself, and Pepe has spoken out about his time recently, admitting that it’s gotten better, and that Mikel Arteta is a big reason why.

His words:

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"“In terms of understanding, things are definitely becoming easier. Mikel has explained exactly what he would like me to do on the pitch and shown me videos that have stressed the importance of my positioning. He’s told me what he would like me to do to help me progress as a player.”"

It’s funny how sometimes, that’s all it takes. You have an immensely talented player, you’d think that letting him have freedom would let him figure things out on his own. That’s how it was for Aaron Ramsey. Let him fly free and reap the rewards.

But in this case, it’s been giving Pepe a firm directive that’s made him come around more as an individual. That, to me, shows a player who is open-minded and eager to improve. Which is such a crucial piece of what makes someone special. Or just what makes someone a good teammate, or worth investing money into.

Pepe sees that now. He’s learned new things here at the club. He’s even more excited to see where this progression takes him than we are. Because he has to feel like he’s really close to unlocking a lot of what makes him pop in certain moments of inspiration.

Pepe knows his own capabilities, he knows his own needs, he knows what’s working for him and he’s figuring it all out here at the Emirates. Good times ahead, ladies and gentlemen. Good times ahead.