Arsenal star Kieran Tierney has revealed that it is 'horrible' to come up against Nicolas Pepe in training.
Pepe has been reduced to a peripheral role this season, with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli all preferred in the Gunners' starting XI.
However, the Ivory Coast international enjoyed an extremely productive Africa Cup of Nations and then came off the bench to score the equaliser during last week's 2-1 victory against Wolves.
Now, Tierney has heaped praise on the club's record signing, admitting that the talented winger is tough to come up against.
When asked who is the hardest to play in training, the Scottish international said: "I'd say Pepe all day. I play against him every day and it's a horrible experience. He's good."
Centre-back Rob Holding also chimed in, repeating the former Celtic ace's assessment on Pepe.
Speaking on The Chat, Holding said: "Yeah it’s not nice. I wouldn’t want to play against him every day, one v ones against Pepe every day…"
Mikel Arteta has predicted the 26-year-old will have a huge impact on Arsenal's charge to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League, a competition they haven't played in since 2017.
"Since he has come back from AFCON I think I have seen a different Nico as well," said Arteta last month.
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"I don’t know what it is, probably he has realised the importance of the end of the season for him. He had a brilliant end of the season last year. He can replicate that.
"We need him at his best because everybody is going to contribute. We are a really short squad at the moment and we need it and hopefully he has understood that we want to play him.
"I don’t want to have a player like him sitting on the bench and not using him and the moment I have chances, I want to give him a chance."
