Rio Ferdinand lauds heavily-criticised Arsenal player who ‘has got his swagger back’

Add as preferred source on Google

Rio Ferdinand spoke on BT Sport during their coverage of Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers last night.

The Gunners were undoubtedly the best team in the first half and were unlucky not to be at least 3-0 up. A questionable decision saw David Luiz sent off just before the break and that changed the game completely.

Bernd Leno was also sent off in the 72nd minute and the improbable task Arsenal had became impossible. Wolves snatched all three points, but Mikel Arteta, despite all the frustration, would have had positives to take from his side’s first-half display.

Bukayo Saka stole the show in the first 10 minutes of the game and on another day, he could’ve had a hat-trick. Emile Smith Rowe played really well between the lines, while Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka were brilliant as well.

One player who caught Ferdinand’s eye was Nicolas Pepe. The former Manchester United man claimed that the Ivorian has got his swagger back, and the confidence he showed in his goal last night proved exactly that.

Ferdinand said: “Pepe has got his swagger back. We have mentioned the press being so successful for this Arsenal team coming into this game.

“Here they saw it, they smelt it and they went in and win the ball, Pepe himself wins it first and then it’s about him from here.

“He puts it through [Nelson] Semedo’s legs, a bit of luck and a bit of trickery, shuffles his way through and this finish is just sublime. What a finish off his right foot. He’s starting to show glimpses of why they invested so heavily in him.”

Heavily-criticised Pepe is silencing his doubters

Pepe was at the end of a ton of criticism from pundits and the media during our difficult run. Many even labelled him a flop as he hadn’t lived up to all the hype, but it was his price-tag that attracted all the attention, not him.

The Ivorian did struggle at times, but it is safe to say that he is performing brilliantly over the last few weeks. Pepe has stepped up in Aubameyang’s absence and has scored twice in his last three league games.

His goal tally is now up to seven for the season, and if he can continue to improve as well as he has done over the last few weeks, he will end the season on a high and silence everyone who doubted him.