Nicolas Pepe says he already feels at home at Arsenal, with Unai Emery largely to thank for his quick transition into living in north London. 

The former-Lille winger has yet to make his full debut, making two substitute appearances thus far.

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Pepe settling in to London life thanks to Emery

Making a club-record move to The Emirates despite rife interest from other Premier League clubs such as Liverpool, Pepe spoke of his delight at how quickly he has settled in to life in England’s top-flight, with the lack of a language barrier between him and Emery smoothing his first month at the club.

“It’s been really good because he speaks French and it has been much easier for us to communicate,” Pepe told the official club website

“I am new, the strategy and tactics are new and it really helps that I can get the coach’s assistance. Now I need to learn English and this is something he is helping me with also.”

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‘Arsenal are a club with a lot of ambition’, says Pepe

The Gunners failed to qualify for the Champions League after finishing fifth in the Premier League and losing 4-1 against Chelsea in the Europa League final back in May.

However, Pepe was quick to reinforce the club’s aims for the 2019/20 campaign, demonstrating his hunger to achieve success at Arsenal, propelling the club back amongst the European heavyweights.

“I chose to come here because it’s a club with a lot of ambition. They have the dream of coming back to the Champions League and I am also an ambitious person, so the choice was very logical.”

“I am attracted to the Premier League because it is an extremely intense championship and the best league in the world. The idea is to win the Europa League and that is a goal of ours. It’s a European event and our goal is to do better than last season. I believe we will.”

Arsenal currently sit in second place, having secured six points from a possible six so far. A 1-0 victory against Newcastle on the opening day was followed up by a 2-1 win over Burnley at the weekend. 

They travel to Anfield on Saturday to face current league leaders Liverpool in the late kick-off. Given both team’s early season form and their respective defensive cracks, it could well make for another eye-catching contest. 

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