Patrice Evra raves about Arsenal speedster Nicolas Pepe

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Former Manchester United star Patrice Evra has heaped praise on Nicolas Pepe after his goalscoring performance during Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Sheffield United (Sky Sports; 04/10; 16:03).

The Gunners speed demon stepped off the bench to score a superb solo goal as Mikel Arteta’s men returned to winning ways.

Pepe has come off the bench in all four of Arsenal’s games in the Premier League this season but his goal against the Blades was his first of the season.

The 25-year-old signed for Arsenal in the summer of 2019 for £72 million from Lille and grew into the 2019/20 campaign after a slow start.

He finished the campaign with eight goals and 10 assists from his 42 appearances and he’ll be hoping for more this season.

Evra was impressed with his cameo and told Sky Sports (Live Coverage; 04/10; 16:03): “In the French league, he scored lots and lots of goals. In the Premier League though you have to find your strength before you can start to play your football.

“One against one though, Pepe is amazing”

Pepe is finding it hard to break into Arteta’s team and that highlights how good the squad is at Arsenal these days.

The winger will hope to make an impact at some point and if he keeps producing as he did against the Blades, it can only bode well for him.

Pepe is paid £100,000-a-week at the Emirates Stadium and with Arsenal vying for honours on four fronts, he should see plenty of game time.

The challenge is to start hitting form on a consistent basis and if he does that he could become a very big player for the Gunners.