Pepe gets Premier League backing from international teammate

Nicolas Pepe

Thursday Oct 10, 2019. 11:00

Struggling Arsenal forward Nicolas Pepe has received backing from Ivory Coast teammate Wilfried Zaha after a difficult start to life in the English Premier League.

Pepe was a sensation for French Ligue 1 side Lille last season, scoring 23goalsin 43 appearances in all competitions, which won him a £72-million move to Arsenal, who beat off competition from a number of teams for his signature.

But just one goal in nine games has had many questioning his price-tag, but Crystal Palace star Zaha says the 24-year-old needs time to adapt to the hustle and bustle of the Premier League.

“I see the social media, I see everything and it’s a thing where he needs time. He’s come from another league, he’s young,” Zaha told The Evening Standard.

“There’s this price tag that he has not put on himself, people have put that on him because of his performances, so you’ve got to give him time for him to reproduce that, it’s not going to come like that.

“I have got nothing but faith in him, I’ve got confidence that he will produce the same thing that he did before, because we both play for Ivory Coast, I’ve seen the talent he’s got, but not everyone sees it.”