Arsenal’s £72m record signing Nicolas Pepe has revealed that his unhappy at the London club.
Ivorian joined Arsenal from Lille on a record fee last season but has failed to make an impact at his new base.
The arrival of new coach Mikel Arteta and former Chelsea winger Willian Borges has not been helpful to the 23-year-old who has found limited playing time.
With other options preferred ahead of him Pepe has started just one Premier League game this season and was given just 25 minutes to make an impact in Arsenal’s 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday evening.
Nicolas Pepe said he is unhappy with his lack of playing time and could be happy again if he gets regular playing time.
“My goal is to play more. Have a little more playing time,’ Pepe told Canal Plus.
“A player who plays is happy.
“For me, I would like to play a little more to find a smile again.
“He [Arteta] wants me to be 100 per cent focused during the 90 minutes of the match.
“Afterwards, I see during training that I will be a substitute the following weekend. But the coach speaks to me, he also has assistants who are there for that.
“But it is frustrating for any player to be on the bench.”
Pepe also admits he does not want to see his role reduced to being just an impact substitute for Arsenal.
“The coach makes his choices,’ said Pepe.
“It’s up to me to show him that I don’t have that role.”
