Mikel Arteta is struggling to get consistent performances out of Nicolas Pépé and Mesut Özil at the moment, but I’d argue neither player is at fault for this. Instead, the Arsenal head coach needs to look at adjusting his system to get more from them.

Individually, I think the two are actually performing well. Pépé is on his best run of goals and assists since joining, with four in his last three league games. He drew a blank against Olympiacos at home, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. He looked as lively as I’d ever seen him, completing 12 of 14 attempted dribbles, but none really led to anything.

Similarly, Özil doesn’t seem to be getting out what he’s putting in right now, particularly when Pépé is on the pitch. He got an assist at the weekend against West Ham, but only after Pépé came off for Reiss Nelson. He scored against Newcastle a few weeks ago, but it was on a rare occasion when he found himself attacking from the left-hand side, which brings me to my point…

Right now, the plan seems to be that Pépé plays on the right, with Özil supporting him. Bukayo Saka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang take the left, with either Eddie Nketiah or Alexandre Lacazette in the centre-forward role.