‘He’s improved’: Mikel Arteta raves about Arsenal flyer Nicolas Pepe

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Mikel Arteta has praised the temperament of Arsenal forward Nicolas Pepe ahead of this weekend’s game against Aston Villa.

He spoke to Football London ahead of the trip to Villa Park with the Gunners in search of a return to winning ways after defeat to Wolves.

Arsenal were down to nine men for the final stages of the 2-1 defeat on Tuesday, providing Arteta with a setback.

Pepe scored in the defeat and in recent weeks he has earned himself a reprieve from the Spanish boss.

After his goalscoring efforts in midweek, he was quizzed about the 23-year-old during this morning’s press conference.

Despite some supporters criticising him previously, Arteta had nothing but positive words about the forward.

He told Football London: “Even when we made decisions not to play him, he kept working hard.

“He has improved in a lot of areas. Nicolas has been much more consistent through 90 minutes and he’s a threat at the moment.

“He’s been assisting players, he’s been scoring goals and he’s been a real threat. He must continue doing that.”

TBR View: Comments should boost Pepe confidence

It’ll probably please the Ivorian to know that his boss has been pleased with his endeavours of late.

The £100,000-a-week player has been forced to wait patiently for a chance in the Premier League and he needs to grasp this chance.

In 26 outings this season has scored seven goals and registered three assists, with the majority of his games coming in Europe.

With Arsenal now boasting plenty of attacking players, he will need to continue to fire if he wants to keep his place.

Arteta is showing no signs of washing his hands of him just yet, however, and that can only bode well going forward.