Unai Emery Hopeful Over Alexandre Lacazette Injury & Says Nicolas Pepe Could Play Against Newcastle

​Arsenal manager Unai Emery has revealed he is optimistic that Alexandre Lacazette will recover from his ankle injury in time to face Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday.

The Frenchman was forced off the pitch during a pre-season friendly with Lyon and did not feature at all during Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Barcelona.

Unai Emery,Alexandre Lacazette

Speaking after the game via ​The Telegraph, Emery insisted he believes ​Lacazette will be ready to play against ​Newcastle, and a decision on his involvement will be made in the coming days.

He said: “Hopefully he will be ready for the match against Newcastle. The doctors are optimistic and we are going to wait. 


"The next days are going to be important if he can progress with his injury. If he is OK for Sunday, perfect. If not, for the next [match].”

Unai Emery

Emery also hinted that new record signing ​Nicolas Pepe could feature, despite also missing the ​Barcelona game. The Ivorian has had just two days to train with his new teammates, and Emery does not want to rush his integration into the team.


“[On Monday] we are going to train together. Each day for him [Pepe] and for us is information we can save. We hope he can be [available] for this match. With him, I want to be patient," Emery added.

“He is in the same situation as the other players who have been coming in the last days. For example, Lucas [Torreira], after one week of training today has his first ten minutes. With Pepe it’s the same. It’s better to be training and be working with us.”

Finally, Emery also confessed that they are still on the lookout for a new signing 'who can improve the squad', with Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney thought to be closing in on a switch to the Emirates Stadium.


Source : 90min