Not really though because those other players also put in garbage performances then don’t get dropped. That’s the difference. Saka missed an arguably easier chance than Pepe, and didn’t really do much the whole game, neither did anyone else. Not Pepes fault they paid £72m for him, and if we want any kind of return on that money we have to either play him regularly to get the performance or play him enough to recoup something from him when we try to sell.
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Shocking miss. Initially i thought it took a deflection but watching it back it was just a prime Gervinho aka the forehead miss.
Think we see these misses far to often with this bloke considering thst sweet left foot of his.
Right or wrong Arteta doesn’t like/trust him and I doubt that will ever change.
We can wait for the next manager to come in but don’t see this guy becoming one of their favourites either.
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Saka is twice the player.
But the overall point is simple. He isn’t being dropped, he’s being rotated in a season where we have a shit ton of fixtures and everybody is getting rotated. Same as City or Chelsea are doing with their attackers. It’s just not a legitimate excuse for him. He is playing more than enough.
Pepe will miss chances, but he will also score them and a good way to make sure that happens is to actually play him ahead of people who never deserve to be on the pitch instead.
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This is true, as you’ve mentioned he’s been getting plenty of minutes. Not sure how that’s a justification anymore.
He’s just a frustrating player that isn’t the guy that the club thought he was.
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Pepe had a good impact off the bench. Surprised he didn’t start the game, yet I don’t think that’s a big deal.
He should have got a penalty but he also should have scored when the ball was presented to him just outside the 6 yards box.
Does he start versus Olympiacos? On current form, I think yes.
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People can say he isn’t good enough or whatever but as far as I’m concerned he just hasn’t been given the chance here.
Brought in under a manager who didn’t want him and Arteta just seems to hate him and kill momentum any time he gets it.
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Yeah. Once again, if Arteta stays then Pepe needs to go. He’s still a baller and I’m pretty positive there are many clubs in Europe that are willing to give him the platform to shine.
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For a bargain bin fee sure.
It is what it is. The higher ups made their made bed by messing with their assets like they often do.
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Lets just hope and pray that Arteta is the one to feck off…Sooner the better!
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He ain’t going nowhere Johnny, you need to come to terms with it.
Spare a thought for Pepe. Benched again for the Coach’s favorite.
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The day I come to terms with us being a mid table club, NOT fighting for honours, and allowing NOVICE managers to learn the trade at MY club…Will be be the day they put me in a hole in the ground.
Even if the owners, and Arteta himself are happy to settle for mediocrity, I NEVER WILL…
Arsenal is too good for nothingness!
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I think in a away game like this his pace and ability on the counter could be very valuable.
You can make a case for Willian in the line up against a team that sits back, when you don’t have much space, but here there was no need to push Willian again.
Should’ve started Pepe and if it doesn’t work you can bring Willian on, sounds much more logical than the other way around.
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I’m really disappointed he isn’t starting tonight, wanted to have a real dip at the Greeks and try and get 2 or 3 away goals.
Going to be hard with Auba and Saka the only two goal scorers in the team.
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Rando from Reddit, but I wouldn’t be surprised his performance have improved dramatically last couple of months and even when he’s been brought on as sub like the Burnley game, (despite the miss) he always makes things happen and gives our attack a boost and impetus.
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I don’t know if the derby is the time but at some point I want to see Saka on the left, Auba central, Pepe on the right from the beginning.
Arteta seems very intent on playing in this particular way in which the two real forwards who get into the box a lot are Auba and the RW, the CAM ends up operating as the creator between the lines on our right, and the LW is the creator behind the lines on the left, with Tierney often pushing forward to become the real left wing player.
I can see why he doesn’t think Pepe is suited for that creator/ballplayer role on the left and prefers Willian. But clearly he does think that Saka can do the creator role, because that is usually what happens when we bring Pepe on for Willian. Saka goes to the left creator space, Pepe becomes the RW/second forward moving into the box. So why can’t we see that from the beginning sometime?
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