Arsenal misfit Nicolas Pepe bagged a stunning solo goal for Ivory Coast on Friday night to fire a timely reminder to Mikel Arteta ahead of the Premier League run-in.
The Gunners are poised to clinch a top-four finish to finally end their multi-year exile from the Champions League. The Londoners are currently sitting in fourth spot, three points ahead of Tottenham having played a game less than their bitter rivals.
Arteta's side have shown commendable character to bounce back from an abysmal start to the season and would arguably exceed all expectations if they do manage to see the job through and pinch the final berth for Europe's elite competition. But Pepe - the Gunners record signing - has been consigned to a watching brief for the majority of the campaign.
The 26-year-old has failed to live up to expectations since Arsenal shelled out an eye-watering £72million to bring the attacker to the Emirates Stadium back in 2019. Pepe has been in and out of the team during his two-and-a-half years in England - and the most recent of his five league starts for the Gunners this term came all the way back in October.
Although there have been reports that Arteta is willing to cut his losses by cashing in on Pepe, the misfiring attacker could still muscle his way into Arteta's plans during the final third of the campaign if he can replicate his international heroics on the domestic stage. Pepe popped up with a stunning goal for Ivory Coast in their slender 2-1 defeat to France.
Former Arsenal man Olivier Giroud netted to restore parity after Pepe's opener before Aurelien Tchouameni plundered a late, late winner for the world champions in Friday night's friendly clash.
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In a match which had a distinct Arsenal flavour in Marseille, another Gunners outcast, William Saliba, was handed his senior France debut by Didier Deschamps in Marseille.
Like Pepe, Saliba has found himself on the fringes in north London after arriving for a big-money transfer fee. In fact, the 21-year-old has yet to make a single senior appearance for the Gunners since joining the club almost three years ago.
But the centre-half has earned rave reviews during a season-long loan spell at Marseille this year. And he was handed the ultimate reward for his dazzling Ligue 1 form by Deschamps on Friday night.
While it remains to be seen if either Saliba or Pepe have a long-term future at Arsenal, their exploits on the international stage could go some way to convincing Arteta that they can still play a role for the Gunners next season.
