Mikel Arteta Demands Nicolas Pepe Be Consistent To Get Regular Starts

Mikel Arteta has given a candid advise to Noclas Pepe over his performance which he required to be improved upon by being more "consistent" and  "incisive" during games before he would be convinced to give him the regular starts that he deserves on the pitch. 

Pepe was a goalscorer in the side's 3-0 win over Dundalk in their second group game of the Europa League on Thursday, but the Ivorian was subbed for former Chelsea player Willian soon after adding in the third goal for the team soon after the break. 

Despite the victory, Arteta was not all pleased with Pepe and explained the eason for that during post-match interview blaming the winger of not doing enough during their games. 

Speaking to the media, the 38-year-old manager explained "it's about finding the consistency" that can be encouraging to getting the spark the team require and that can be possible by being in the right "position inside the box" during their games. 

Arteta continued, "Not through the games but during the game but during the games as well to be more incisive. and do the right things on many occasions when he has to make the right decision on the pitch. It's nothing to do with his attitude."

In overall, Arteta revealed his displeasure at the team's performance against the Irish side and blamed them for making the game somewhat too comfortable for the opponent by not making enough goal attempts to put the visitors' goalkeeper Gary Rogers to the test.

"He's a player who takes risks, a very creative player - that's the most difficult thing in football," Arteta admitted. "But sometimes it's the simple things, the deliveries, the amount of situations he's able to create or attract and then make the right decision to keep that phase of play."

Pepe joined the London-based club in a fee of £72million from Lille that overtook the previous club-recording signing set by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£55m) from Borussia Dortmund in 2018.