Arsenal: 3 things Mikel Arteta must consider in this winter break

1. Play Nicholas Pepe more regularly

Everyone has an opinion on Nicholas Pepe and how he has started his career at Arsenal. In my opinion he has not been given a solid run of games in the team and that is despite how he plays.

He’s not set the world alight and I certainly expected more from him for £72m, but what do you expect when you start one game and then get benched for the next two or three games. We talk about confidence in players, how must it be affecting Pepe’s confidence when this happens?

One thing is sure, he’s certainly not getting better or adapting to the Premier League wasting away on the bench or playing 15 minute cameos. He needs to start more often. From what I have seen over the last few games he has improved.

Although his final ball is somewhat lacking, he has pace, trickery and has started to beat his man more often.

More game time breeds confidence and will help him settle into the team more. It certainly makes more sense to play him then play someone out of position on the right. In Nicolas Pepe, we do have a very good player who just needs time.