Surprise Arsenal opening for outcast Nicolas Pepe

Will Nicolas Pepe Get a Chance vs Southampton?

Watching Gabriel Martinelli hobble off with a hamstring injury in the 2-1 defeat was a crushing blow for all involved. On the player’s part, he’d been handed back-to-back starts in the league, looking excellent at Old Trafford and doing nothing especially wrong against the Toffees.

For Arsenal, they will need all their firepower fit and firing with goals hard to come by all season. Arteta said after the game that he was ‘not positive’ about Martinelli’s situation.

Add to that some uncertainty around Emile Smith Rowe and the groin problem that kept him out of Monday’s squad, and a surprise door creeks open for Pepe to stake a claim for a place in the team when it was felt he couldn’t be further away from the team.

Whether a spot on the wings becomes available to him or not, Arsenal will either be left with a player sulking and disheartened, or with a fire in his belly to take his chance. His lack of involvement over recent weeks and his attitude in the Crystal Palace draw – his most recent start – suggests more of the former.

Given how Arteta has favoured Nketiah over the past two matches there is even less confidence that Pepe can suddenly wrestle favour in the manager’s eyes and get himself in a position to feature. When a 22-year-old striker is selected ahead of you on the wing when the team needs goals there is really no conceivable way back for you.

Which means Arteta needs to make a choice. Having him on the bench over the likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles when it doesn’t remotely look like Pepe is going to be anything other than a bench warmer provides the team with little use.

Arteta has shrugged off the suggestions of selling Pepe in January but it would be remarkable if it wasn’t an absolute consideration. If anything even vaguely acceptable comes in then surely he’s eyeing moving him on. It’s not like he’ll be around in January anyway, and Pepe can’t even make the starting lineup for his national team.

Southampton poses his best realistic chance for minutes. But even with injuries offering a glimmer of hope for him it looks as if Arteta’s gauntlet has been laid down.