Arteta singles out player who impressed him and was ‘top drawer’ on Sunday

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has singled out the player who impressed him on Sunday afternoon as the Gunners defeated Newcastle United 4-0 in the Premier League to begin their late push for a place in the top four of the Premier League.

The Gunners have endured a turbulent 2019/20 campaign so far which has seen them say goodbye to Unai Emery, who was sacked just over a year after replacing Arsene Wenger at the Emirates stadium.

The Spaniard was responsible for the signing of Nicolas Pepe last summer, in a deal which saw Arsenal break the club-record fee for a new addition.

With the entire team struggling this season, Pepe has not enjoyed the bright start he would have wanted to his career for the Gunners.

However, the Ivory Coast international was in sublime form on Sunday as Arsenal thrashed Newcastle at home.

After two assists and a goal, Mike Arteta heaped praise on Pepe, whom he felt was ‘top drawer’ against the Magpies.

“Hopefully. We just need consistency from him. Wide talented players in this league is not easy to get because obviously the most difficult thing to do is create things, but we’ve said some things and we need Nico to maintain game by game.” he said, as per Arsenal.com

“He knows that and it’s the way he was applying himself defensively in a few moments, he was top drawer. That’s what he wasn’t doing in the past and when he does that, the rewards in the other box come. He made a difference today.”