Nicolas Pepe believes he has improved and says "things are becoming easier" at Arsenal

Nicolas Pepe believes he is gradually settling into life at Arsenal following a £72m move from Lille last summer.

The Gunners paid a club-record fee for the Ivory Coast international, who was directly involved in 33 goals in Ligue 1 last term.

Pepe had a slow start to life in north London, though, failing to score and providing only two assists during Unai Emery's time in charge.

Pepe's productivity has improved since then, with the winger having found the net in victories over West Ham and Manchester United.

And the 24-year-old believes that he will only get better as he continues to learn under Mikel Arteta.

"Things are definitely going better," he said ahead of Wednesday's crunch clash with Chelsea.

“I am still learning and there is plenty of room for improvement, but in terms of understanding, things are definitely becoming easier.

“Mikel has explained exactly what he would like me to do on the pitch and shown me videos that have stressed the importance of my positioning. He’s told me what he would like me to do to help me progress as a player.”

Arsenal have only won Premier League match during Arteta's time at the helm, and Saturday's 1-1 draw with Sheffield United made it just two wins in their last 15 top-flight outings.

The Gunners are currently 10th in the Premier League table and will fall 13 points adrift of the top four if they are beaten by Chelsea this week.

Arteta will again have to make do without the suspended Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Pepe believes his side will miss the Gabon international.

“Of course, it is a big loss to be without one of the best strikers in the league, but we all have to do our best to make up for that loss," he added.

“It’s a team game and we can cope without a single player. We have a quality squad and others who can come in, like [Gabriel] Martinelli. There are still plenty of goals in the team.”

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