Mourinho and Benitez's prediction about Nicolas Pepe has been proven right

The presence of Mikel Arteta has sparked a revival in Nicolas Pepe's fortunes at Arsenal, after the winger initially struggled to find his best form under former boss Unai Emery


Nicolas Pepe in the player's tunnel after the Premier League match between Arsenal and Newcastle United


Nicolas Pepe has had a fairly mixed debut season in the Premier League for his new club Arsenal.



Under former manager Unai Emery, the Ivorian winger showed glimpses of his exciting talent after being signed from Lille last summer.

However, since Mikel Arteta took over at the Emirates Stadium in December, Pepe has kicked on under the Spaniard.


Despite his goal return actually being lower than what it was under Emery, Pepe’s performances have gone up a notch and now the Gunners’ supporters are really seeing the player they signed for a reported £72million.

On December 9, Pepe scored a huge goal for Arsenal in a 3-1 victory against West Ham United at the London Stadium, a victory that ended the Gunners’ winless run of nine games.

It was a fantastic goal, too, picking the ball up on the right wing before forcing it onto his left foot and curling it into the far corner to give the away side a precious lead.

That was a taste for what we had coming with Pépé, something Rafael Benitez eluded to after the game on Monday Night Football.

“Pepe will have confidence for two or three games but he has to keep doing it now otherwise he will lose it again,” Benitez said.

Pepe’s upturn in form may have come as a surprise to those who had immediately written him off during his settling in period, but one man it wouldn’t have shocked is José Mourinho, who said this on the 24-year-old after signing for the north London side.

“I know Pepe very well. There’s a question mark over the time for his adaption but he’s obviously a kid with a lot of talent. This is potentially a very good signing for Arsenal,” Mourinho predicted.

Overall this season, Pepe has played 24 games in the Premier League and scored four times, whilst providing six assists.

The former Lille winger will continue to go from strength-to-strength for the Gunners, after already playing the most difficult season for his new club.

As well as this, Arsenal have had a largely underwhelming campaign, and under new boss Arteta, they have shown plenty of signs of improvement.

Next season, if the Gunners continue to impress under the former Arsenal midfielder, then this could take Pepe's form to a new level.