Unai Emery says he’ll decide tomorrow whether to unleash Pepe on Burnley or not

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal manager Unai Emery will decide tomorrow if he will use Nicolas Pepe from the start against Burnley this weekend.

The club’s new record signing has been getting back up to speed after featuring at the Africa Cup of Nations this summer.

The Ivory Coast international did not have much of a pre-season due to the tournament, and joined the Gunners towards the end of the window meaning he hasn’t had much time to settle in yet.

Against Newcastle United, Emery opted to leave the star on the bench, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and youngster Reiss Nelson getting the nod to start.

Pepe was brought on in the second half for his debut, and fans are keen to see him thrust into the starting XI for the visit of the Clarets.

On the prospect of that happening, Emery said (quoted by football.london): “I am going to decide tomorrow because now is a small difference for my decision about the player. It depends how they will be tomorrow in the training. Pepe is training with us, improving with us, knowing us.

“He’s understanding our style little by little and physically getting better. He is more close to help us at the beginning [of the match].”

TBR’s view

Despite beating Newcastle last Sunday, Arsenal did struggle at St. James’ Park.

There was something missing in attack for Arsenal, and one would imagine Pepe and also Alexandre Lacazette will make a big difference.

Having been at the club for a couple of weeks now, there’s a good chance he’ll be ready – fans will most definitely want to see the £72 million man replace the frustrating Mkhitaryan on the right wing.