Arsenal outcast Nicolas Pepe has been lauded by teammate Gaeten Laborde after taking on a new central attacking role for OGC Nice.
Pepe was shipped out on loan to the Ligue 1 outfit in the summer after failing to live up to expectations at the Emirates following his club-record £72million switch from Lille back in 2019.
Despite an indifferent start to life in France, the 27-year-old Ivorian winger has established himself as a key player in Lucian Favre's team, starting all but two of their 13 league games so far this term; however, Pepe has been tasked with filling a new role in recent weeks in the wake of an injury to Laborde's regular striker partner, Andy Delort.
Laborde has commended Pepe for rebounding from a "difficult period" at his parent club - and insisted that the Gunners' club-record signing, who has plundered six goals in 19 outings this term, could have a future in a central role.
Laborde told GFFN: "He is coming out of a bit of a difficult period, so he needs a bit of time as well. Nicolas doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone. In terms of his quality, he is an extraordinary player. I think it’s maybe a new role for him. He has to adapt to that. He is more of a winger, and now he’s playing more centrally. But with his qualities, he can play wherever and play well."
Laborde's verdict on Pepe comes at a time when Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is scouring the market for attacking reinforcements with Gabriel Jesus set to be sidelined for up to three months.
Arsenal are believed to be open to signing two attacking players when the transfer window reopens next month in the wake of Jesus' injury.
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Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhalo Mudryk has emerged as the Gunners' top target but they could be priced out of a deal for the coveted Ukrainian star if they need to splash the cash on another No.9. Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix is another forward currently being courted by the Londoners.
Arsenal could be forced to consider other options if they are unable to do business in January in order to sustain their title bid. While it remains to be seen if Pepe can still salvage his career at the Emirates, Arteta did not appear to completely shut the door on the forward, who still has two years remaining on his Gunners contract.
Speaking back in the summer after Pepe's switch to Nice was confirmed, Arteta explained that the former Lille man needed regular football in order to rebuild his confidence. The Spaniard said: "We decided for every party it was the best decision to allow him to go. He needs to play minutes, he needs to play football. He was really adamant to do that and we decided that it would be best for everybody to do it.
"He needed minutes, he has been craving minutes and talking to me a lot about that, I couldn’t guarantee that right now, what he was looking for.
"At some stage, if you extend that period for too long then frustration comes in and the level of performance won’t get to what we want and we decided that was the best thing to do for all parties."
