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da doce： After a promising start to the season, Arsenal were brought back down to earth with a bang against Liverpool on Saturday evening.
The Reds claimed a 3-1 victory and were easily the better of the two teams. Mohamed Salah was on good form, netting twice, with Joel Matip scoring the other for the Anfield outfit. Only Lucas Torreira could respond for the visitors.
There were few positives for Unai Emery to take from the game, but one of them was the performance of Nicolas Pepe.
Check out fan reaction to Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal in the video below…
The Ivory Coast international was making his first appearance in the Gunners’ starting XI since signing from Lille in the summer, and he was the team’s best performer in the initial line-up.
Arsenal only managed three shots on target throughout the match and Pepe had two of them. He will have been disappointed not to do better with the one-on-one situation he found himself in during the first half, but he was still one of the few players who managed to get themselves into such a position.
The seven dribbles he completed was not only five higher than any of his teammates, but was also the most of any player on the pitch. Between them, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah only managed five.
In terms of crosses, it was a similar story, at least in the Arsenal team. The 24-year-old provided four balls into the box, two more than anyone else on his side. Meanwhile, his passing accuracy of 91.7% was only bettered by Sokratis in a black shirt.
It wasn’t all good news though. He did only manage to create one chance, and Emery will certainly be expecting more from the wide man – he needs to be more of a creative force. However, for his first start for the club, it was an impressive display, and provides a much-needed positive from defeat against such formidable opponents.
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