TURKISH DELIGHT
Pepe chance to raise Standard
huddle before the game that we had to win with the Besiktas and Man City fixtures coming up.
“We must use the win to kick on and improve.”
Travelling around Europe may be second nature to the club he supported as a boy
UNAI EMERY has backed Nicolas Pepe to deal with the pressure of being an Arsenal player.
The £72m record signing admitted he was lacking confidence even before his nightmare display at Old Trafford on Monday when he lost the ball 17 times. The Spaniard will make changes for tonight’s Europa League tie with Standard Liege with Mesut Ozil set to start.
But he is considering giving forward Pepe, 24, extra game time to find the form which saw him score 23 goals last season and earn him a move from Lille to the Premier League.
The Gunners boss said: “They are human, every player. We are playing every time, as a coach or a player, under pressure.
“Under pressure is a positive. Being under pressure is because we are at a big club with a very demanding objective.
“It’s a privilege to be here. The players are here because they deserve to be here and they are privileged to be here. That privilege brings pressure, of course. I am sure that Pepe is an amazing player, I am sure he is going to have a big career here but he needs time. “He still needs to play, get confidence, know progressively better the other players, our work. I think he is progressing.”
Emery must also decide whether to play Gunners top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tonight.
He said: “I want to feel not just me loves this competition – I want to feel everybody loves this competition.”
Asked if Ozil will be leaving the club in January, he added: “He is our player now.” but for Wolves, this is their first taste of it for just short of 40 years.
The Wolves defender said: “You dream of playing at a higher level no matter what club you’re at.
“We’re really looking forward to it and we want to embrace it.”