West Ham vs Arsenal: Ljungberg applauds Nicolas Pepe’s match-winning display
Nicolas Pepe inspired Arsenal to their first victory in 10 games as Freddie Ljungberg’s reign finally had lift-off.
The Gunners’ £72million man scored a brilliant solo effort before setting up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the north Londoners came from behind to seal a 3-1 win over West Ham to notch interim boss Ljungberg’s first win since taking over.
Angelo Ogbonna’s opener was cancelled out by Gabriel Martinelli who levelled on his full Premier League debut and Ljungberg said: ‘People always ask me about Pepe, and he needs to adapt and that’s not so easy, especially with his price.
‘But he showed his quality tonight and he can sleep happy. He will get better and better.
‘I hope the win changes the mood. They look happy. But we are demanded to win football matches and I can sense the pressure that we have been under.
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‘That lifted a bit today. You always hope one win can transform a season – but we can’t get carried away.’
On the prospect of becoming the club’s full-time boss, Ljungberg, who confirmed Kieran Tierney was sent to hospital after suffering a serious-looking shoulder injury, added: ‘I speak to Edu (technical director) but I’ve been told just to work on a game-by-game basis.’