Former Arsenal defender Lee Dixon had little time for Nicolas Pepe after the Ivorian winger complained about a lack of game-time afforded to him by Mikel Arteta.
The 25-year-old former Lille man is Arsenal’s club record signing, having moved from France for a reported £72m to be paid in instalments. Despite impressing at times in cup competitions, he has only made one Premier League start for the Gunners this season.
That is understandably disconcerting for a man with high expectations of being afforded opportunities at the highest level of English football. As a result, Pepe was open about his frustrations and unhappiness at a lack of playing time as he spoke to French outlet Canal Plus [via Sky Sports]:
“My goal is to play more. To have a little more playing time. A player who plays is happy. For me, I would like to play a little more to find a smile again.
“He (Arteta) wants me to be 100 per cent focused during the 90 minutes of the match. Afterwards, I see during training that I will be a substitute the following weekend.
“But the coach speaks to me, he also has assistants who are there for that. But it is frustrating for any player to be on the bench.
“A super-sub role? The coach makes his choices. It’s up to me to show him that I don’t have that role.”
Whist Pepe did show a resilience and desire to prove himself, there is an undertone of entitlement to more minutes than he is currently being afforded. This sentiment led to a frank and brutal three-word criticism from pundit and former Arsenal star Lee Dixon.
Dixon made more than 450 appearances for the Gunners and his damning assessment did not hold anything back:
Twitter: @SkySportsNews Play better then (@LeeDixon2)
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Ouch.
For an Arsenal legend to exhibit such open discontent is perhaps indicative of the wider mood surrounding the Arsenal fanbase. Some may well feel aggrieved that players do not show enough desire or demonstrate improvements, whilst others may feel Arteta is not getting the best out of his players.
