Arsenal legend Ian Wright has warned Nicolas Pepe that this may be his last chance to impress Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners splashed a club-record £72million to prize Pepe away from Lille after an incredible 2018/19 campaign with the Ligue 1 outfit.
However, the Ivory Coast international has struggled for consistency at the Emirates Stadium, notching just 26 goals and 20 assists in 101 games for the north Londoners, with youngster Bukayo Saka displacing him from the starting XI in recent months.
Now, Wright has claimed that the 26-year-old needs to step up following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's departure, urging the talented winger to replicate the form he showed with Les Elephants during the recent Africa Cup of Nations, where he registered two goals and an assist in just three starts.
"Up to this point he’s not used Pepe in any way that makes me think he’s got love for Pepe," he told Wrighty’s House podcast.
"I think Pepe might be in a last chance saloon, with the amount of games he hasn’t played.
"I’d like to see something from him.
"When you watch him in the Africa Cup of Nations, where I think the defender is even harder with them guys, with how athletic, how good and how intelligent they are. You’ve got to do a lot more, and when you watch him, he’s done it! Why aren’t we getting that out of him?"
According to French outlet L'Equipe, via Daily Mercato, both Lyon and Marseille are interested in the Ivorian and Wright has urged Arteta to try him out in a central position.
"If that means playing him in a False 9, or playing him in a position where he’s just free and gets on the ball and runs at people."
Pepe will have just two years left on his current Arsenal contract this summer and the club may decide to cash in on him if he is unable to start producing on a more consistent basis.
