Ian Wright pinpoints Mikel Arteta’s biggest mistake this season

Nicolas Pepe should have been given the nod earlier in the season.

This is according to former Arsenal forward Ian Wright who believes Mikel Arteta made a mistake by prioritising Willian ahead of Nicolas Pepe earlier this season.

Pepe who joined from Lille in 2019 for £72million scored 16 goals and made five assists in 47 appearances this season.

He scored five in the last three games for the Gunners and Ian Wright claims Aretata made a mistake in his squad selection.

“He’s scored 16 goals and got five assists and he is somebody that you would have like to have seen earlier on in the season,” Wright told BBC Sport’s Match of the Day.

“But he [Arteta] persisted with Willian and we saw how that worked out.

“But he is somebody that we know what he is capable of; he has got a lot of skill. This [his first vs Brighton] is a fantastic goal. The touch and the finish is brilliant, and he is somebody that we want to see more of, with Arsenal creating these types of chances, because we try to score these perfect goals all the time.

“It is not working out for us. But now, you see him getting into these types of positions and that is a beautiful finish [his second].

“He’s got five in his last three and, like I said, at the start of the season Arteta was showing faith in Willian and that hasn’t worked out.

“You are looking at goals what are needed from the midfield and from Arsenal. Joe Willock has been sent out on loan, Dani Ceballos hasn’t done great and what needs to happen now is that the summer needs to be massive.

“It is a big summer for us.”

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