Arsenal take on Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday and Nicolas Pepe has been nursing an injury before the match.
The summer signing has been trying to find his foot at Arsenal during the current season but last weekend against West Ham United, the winger showed glimpses of what he is capable of.
But after the match, there were reports of him suffering a bruised knee which immediately put his place against Manchester City in danger.
Now though Arsenal’s latest injury update has made it clear that Nicolas Pepe is fit and available for selection when the Citizens come to town.
The update read: “Nicolas Pepe – Available for selection for Manchester City (h) after bruising to left knee sustained during West Ham United (a).”
This season, the winger has featured in 14 games for the Gunners but has managed to find the net only twice which is a far off performance from what he had for Lille last season.
But last weekend against the Hammers, Pepe was easily one of the key players for Arsenal going forward and the manager would have been really worried about his fitness going into the Manchester City game.
Freddie Ljungberg has opted not to use Nicolas Pepe too much ever since he took charge of Arsenal but it will be really difficult for him to leave the player out after how he performed against West Ham last weekend.
While the fans will be hoping that the winger gets to start upfront but the manager could very well opt for a change in formation which could see Pepe drop to the bench.
Playing at home, the Gunners need not go into a shell but given the play Man City and also the fact that they have been so poor in recent months, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if Nicolas Pepe starts on the bench in order to accommodate a midfield five for Arsenal.
