MIKEL Arteta has praised Nicolas Pepe’s bouncebackability after the winger worked his way back into the Arsenal starting line-up.

A string of meandering performances saw Pepe become an expensive bench-warmer, with youngsters Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe taking on the responsibility of reviving the Gunners’ ailing season.

But far from sulking, Pepe continued to put in the work in training, and is now reaping the rewards on the pitch having scored two goals in his last three games.

“Even when we made decisions not to play him, he kept working hard,” revealed Arteta. “He has improved in a lot of areas and has been much more consistent for 90 minutes.

“He’s a real threat at the moment because he’s been scoring goals and he’s been assisting players. He needs to continue doing that.”

Some of Pepe’s most promising moves in the last couple of matches have come down the left in the absence of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who usually occupies that part of the pitch.

Aubameyang is now back from personal leave after looking after his sick mother. He is expected to start against Aston Villa tomorrow (Saturday), with Pepe returning to his more familiar position on the right wing.

Arteta, however, says he is not afraid to shuffle his pack, insisting that places in the starting XI will go to those who deserve it. The Arsenal boss added: “At the end of the day, we have to play the players who are in the best form and everybody has to earn the right to play and participate in the games.

“That’s what everybody’s doing, pushing each other to raise the level. You can see that the level has been raised because everybody is playing at their best. There’s still room for improvement so everybody has to keep pushing.”

Arsenal will be looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League following the midweek defeat at Wolves.

But Arteta knows it won’t be easy as he takes his side back to the West Midlands to face an Aston Villa side that stuffed the Gunners 3-0 at the Emirates in November.

“They have been fantastic through the season, and they have beaten some top teams,” said Arteta. “They have been on a really strong run and they beat us when we played them at home, so we have to make sure that we go there and do all we can to win the game.”

This weekend will also mark the introduction of concussion substitutes, which Arteta described as ”necessary”.

He added: “When something dramatic happens on the pitch, at least we have the ability to replace that player.”