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In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, John Hartson has said he expects Nicolas Pepe to become a “great player” at Arsenal.

The Ivory Coast international signed from Lille for a club-record £72m in the summer following two impressive campaigns with the Ligue 1 side, where he netted 37 goals in 79 appearances.

However, he has not been able to translate that to the Premier League so far, registering just one assist in his first five appearances.

Hartson, though, believes we should be patient with the 24-year-old, and he expects big things from him in the future.

He said, “We've not seen an awful lot of Pepe yet. I know it's very early days but for £72m you want and expect big things from him.

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“We've seen what he can do in little tiny glimpses but we haven’t quite seen the best of him yet.

“I'm cutting him some slack because I'm expecting him to become a great player for Arsenal”.

Arsenal fans will no doubt be slightly disappointed with what they have seen from the winger so far, but there is no denying his talent. Last season, he bagged 23 goals and provided 12 assists in France.

He is not the first to take time to adapt to English football, and he won’t be the last. Of course, the Gunners will need him to step up sooner rather than later, but if his displays in France are anything to go by, their patience will be rewarded when he does find his groove.