Arsenal manager, Unai Emery, has insisted the club made the right decision, by choosing to sign Nicolas Pepe instead of Ivory Coast team-mate Wilfried Zaha over the summer.
The Gunners smashed their transfer record to bring in Pepe from Lille in a £72m deal, after they were unwilling to meet Crystal Palace’s asking price for Zaha.
After scoring 22 goals and providing 11 assists last term in Ligue 1, Pepe arrived in North London with high expectations, but got off to a slow start at the Emirates Stadium.
After finding the net just once in his first nine Premier League games, the 24-year-old showed signs of his quality with two spectacular free-kicks during Thursday’s 3-2 Europa League win over Vitoria Guimaraes.
And Emery says the brace reinforced his confidence in the Ivorian and is hopeful it is a sign of things to come.
“We chose to sign Pepe even though Zaha is a very good player.
“We signed Pepe not for two months, six months, one or two years but for the process. And the process is coming together little by little.
“Nicolas will be more confident after Thursday. This club follows a lot of players all around the world, because we have very good scouts. We are very happy with Pepe.
“We need patience and to be calm with him, help him and protect him because he can think he is playing under pressure,” Emery told reporters on Friday.
