Arsenal boss Arteta makes exciting Nicolas Pepe claim

As Arsenal geared up to face Brentford in the Premier League, all the discussion centred around the one player not involved and the other set to take his place.

Gabriel Martinelli’s red card against Wolves for two bizarre yellow cards meant he would miss out with a one-game suspension, with Emile Smith Rowe set for a much welcome return to the starting lineup, just his second in the last nine Premier League matches.

The club’s top scorer had been in outstanding form prior to suffering niggling injuries, making that spot out on the left his own this season prior to Martinelli’s exceptional form. Martin Odegaard has the No. 10 position nailed down, and Bukayo Saka isn’t going anywhere with the right flank his all on his own.

Which leaves Nicolas Pepe as an afterthought.

Arsenal vs Brentford: Mikel Arteta makes exciting Nicolas Pepe claim which hints to involvement and summer transfer move

Martinelli would be absent from Saturday’s game and not for even a split second did anyone consider bringing Pepe into the fold ahead of Smith Rowe. Nor is anyone going to think that for the remaining matches of the season as the Ivorian is simply not at the standard of this teammates.

There will be a time for him, though, with the thin squad in need of someone with genuine goal threat, and for all his flaws there is no denying that Pepe offers that. Having returned from AFCON, Mikel Arteta has made a reassuring claim which hints that fans could be about to see some of that.

"“Since he has come back [from AFCON], I have seen a different Nico,” Arteta said of the forward, via Goal. “I don’t know what it is, probably he has realised the importance of the end of the season for him.“His attitude, his smile, the way he is communicating with everybody, his energy. The way he has trained. His efficiency in training. His application.“His energy has changed. I think he felt important again. Probably he felt like a proper football player that can win tournaments and felt ‘ok, this is me now’. He needed that and I’m really pleased with that.”"

Those are exciting comments for more than one reason. Firstly they’re positive signs that there could be some key contributions from Pepe, but if we’re reading between the lines, it’s encouraging as well because understanding ‘the importance of the end of the season for him’ also infers that he needs to put himself in the shop window.

It’s hardly much of a secret that Pepe is no long for Arsenal: he isn’t Arteta’s player, Arteta doesn’t fancy him and he doesn’t fit into the right flank tactically. He can’t get minutes and he won’t be getting them anytime soon.

Finding a new club for him in the summer is surely what all parties will want, so in a similar way to Ralf Rangnick stating he doesn’t care why Paul Pogba performs well – whether he’s playing for a new contract elsewhere or because he wants to do well for the team – as long as it’s in the benefit of the group, a similar situation may be arising with Pepe.

Agreeing to a move that is financially rewarding for Arsenal and that suits Pepe is another matter, of course, but based on the manager’s comments you wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the conversation about moving on in the summer has probably already taken place.

If he can help fire Arsenal into the top four places this season with form similar to how he ended the previous campaign then clubs will be taking serious consideration. The talent is there, it just does not fit in at the Emirates.