Freddie Ljungberg Reveals Reason Behind Nicolas Pepe’s Poor Form

Freddie Ljungberg plans on speaking to Nicolas Pepe about his role at Arsenal.

The Gunners paid a record £72m for the winger and is yet to see the return on their investments.

Pepe has struggled to adapt to the Premier League, being dropped from the starting lineup in their last 4 games and even made to sit out against Norwich City.

“Nicolas is a very, very good player,” said Ljungberg. “Sometimes we come from a different league and it takes time to adapt, off the pitch and on the pitch.

“Nicolas is someone I plan on talking to, we’re going to have a little chat about how he feels about things. He’s an important player. I just think it’s a new country, a new way of playing and I’m going to have a little chat with him about what I expect and how I want to play.”

Pepe has struck the back of the net just once in 12 Premier League appearances and that too from the penalty spot. However, his performances have not been all bad. The Ivory Coast international has shown sparks of brilliance and creativity, something which can be further developed by Ljungberg.

“It would be great if we had games Saturday to Saturday and had a few more training sessions to keep working on things,” said the ex-Arsenal midfielder. “That’s going to be an ongoing theme, working on defending for a long time. We have a lot of quality but that’s one thing we need to fix ASAP.”