Arsenal Vs Burnley: Analysing the Nicolas Pepe mess

Upon Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s return from suspension against Burnley, Nicolas Pepe not only dropped out of Arsenal’s starting XI but stayed there as Joe Willock and Eddie Nketiah came on. It is a messy situation.

It is never a good look when two 20-year-olds are introduced when your team is chasing a goal instead of the £72 million club-record signing is sat on the bench, wondering what he has to do to get on the pitch and try and change the game. And yet, that is precisely what happened in Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Burnley.

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With the Gunners chasing a goal to break their relentless run of draws, head Mikel Arteta turned to his bench and saw Nicolas Pepe, waiting patiently to make his mark on a game in desperate need of the offensive spark that he is capable of providing. Arteta ignored him, instead introducing Joe Willock and then Eddie Nketiah in the hope that his young players could find the winner.

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Whether that was the right or wrong decision or not, we will never know. Yes, Arsenal did not score that elusive winning goal, but there is no guarantee that they would have done with Pepe on the pitch either. He has produced fleeting moments of brilliance in his first season at the club, but he has hardly taken over games on a consistent basis this year. Talented he may be, but the production has been lacking.

And, in his first two months as head coach, Arteta has stuck to his guns when he said that players would be given a ‘clean slate’ to impress. Mesut Ozil is now a key player, although his performances have waned, Granit Xhaka looks revitalised after previously being pushed to the edge of departing the club, while Arteta has even managed to get a tune out of Shkodran Mustafi, despite the German’s obvious flaws. But the Pepe case has not produced such a positive response.

While the Ivorian started the last six successive games and was seemingly beginning to get into a groove with Arteta and this new Arsenal, he was dropped entirely from the team at the weekend. 18-year-old Gabriel Martinelli even switched flanks and kept his place in the starting XI as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was ushered back into the starting XI following his three-match suspension.

The overarching point is this: the situation is messy. Arteta is well within his right to pick the team he best sees fit to win the match, and it is up to Pepe to adapt to his new manager and perform as his manager demands. But equally, Pepe has an ability and potential that Arteta would be wise to tap into. The 24-year-old can do things that no other player in the squad can. Investing in his ability would be wise.

Ultimately, this was one game and just because Arteta went elsewhere on Sunday does not mean he will do the same next time out. But Pepe now has a two-week break, during which the team is off on a training camp in Dubai, to work hard in training and prove to Arteta that he deserves to be starting — or, at the very least, is the first person off the bench to change games.

This is Arteta’s decision. It is these selections that make or break a manager. Whether he has made the right call or not remains to be seen, but the Pepe situation is a mess and it needs a solution, one way or the other.