Arsenal

Nicolas Pepe admits he is unhappy with Arsenal playing time

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 10 November 2020

Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe admits that he is unhappy with his current situation at Arsenal, with the 25-year-old struggling for starts over Willian.

Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe has admitted that he is frustrated with his lack of starts under Mikel Arteta.

The 25-year-old has found it hard to break into the team on the right-hand side over summer signing Willian, with Pepe starting just one of Arsenal's eight Premier League games in the 2020-21 campaign.

The former Lille man has started all three of the Gunners' Europa League ties and boasts two goals and two assists from those matches, but Pepe is eyeing more game time from the first whistle in order to "find a smile again".

Speaking to Canal Plus, Pepe said: "My goal is to play more. 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.

"[Arteta] wants me to be 100% 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."

The Ivory Coast international came off the bench for the final 25 minutes of Arsenal's 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday, and Pepe's winner against Sheffield United back in October is the most recent goal that the Gunners have scored from open play in the top flight.