Arsenal were agonisingly close to progressing to the last 16 of the Europa League, only to receive an extra time sucker punch from Olympiacos and see their dreams dashed in the round of 32. Though it was primarily a thoroughly disappointing evening for fans of the Gunners, a few of their players did give a good account of themselves, and one, in particular, was Nicolas Pepe. The summer signing from Lille has begun to hit form of late and despite being unable to influence Thursday night’s result, continued to impress.
As per WhoScored, Pepe had the most touches of any of Arsenal’s attackers, 113, along with taking on the most shots, four, and shots on target, one. The number of times the Ivorian winger touched the ball in advanced areas indicates how he was trying to threaten the opposition defence and break the deadlock for Arsenal. Often Pepe was seen attempting to force the issue alone, completing a remarkable 12 dribbles around opponents to highlight his mesmerising close control.
Pepe recorded the lowest pass accuracy of any Arsenal player, 79.4 from 68 passes along with nine attempted crosses two of which were successful, as per WhoScored. Although this does suggest he was taking risks to try and find openings in the opposition’s defence, the Greek champions were incredibly resolute with regard to combating Pepe’s whipped balls into the area. Ultimately the 24-year-old winger was unable to a to his four goals and assists combined in the competition this season, but he was the most consistently threatening of any of the Arsenal squad on the night.
However, his display was not flawless, and there were areas for improvement. Pepe made just one tackle, a marginal defensive contribution, along with being dispossessed on four occasions and taking three unsuccessful touches, as per WhoScored. Manager Mikel Arteta will have been particularly disappointed the Ivorian winger conceded possession to the opposition so frequently, as well as not having pressed the opposition harder from the front.
While Arsenal may have exited the competition earlier than they might have expected, they can now focus on their Premier League form. They are just four points shy of Manchester United in fifth and could be in with an outside chance of retaining their European status next season.
