NICOLAS PEPE has confessed to being ‘frustrated’ by his slow second season at Arsenal.
The Gunners’ record signing put together a reasonable first year in England but has failed to impress in the early weeks of 2020-21.
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Playing opportunities have been limited under Mikel Arteta, who has favoured the winger for Europa League games.
Despite scoring twice and registering two assists in Europe, Pepe is yet to start a game of this season’s Premier League.
And that has left the £72million man disappointed with his opportunities.
Pepe told Canal+ via Metro: “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 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.
“The coach makes his choices. It’s up to me to show him that I deserve that chance.”
Arteta has stuck with a 3-4-3 system in the league with new signing Willian starting in Pepe’s position on the right wing.
Yet goals have been hard to come by for the Gunners, who have just a single win in four games domestically.
Arsenal have failed to score a league goal from open play for six-and-a-half hours.
Pepe will hope to earn a fresh chance as his side look to bounce back from a 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa against Leeds in a fortnight.
In the meantime, he is expected to earn some game time with Ivory Coast in an upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualification double-header against Madagascar.
