Alan Smith believes Willian and Pepe present Ozil’s problem

Former Gunners striker Alan Smith believes

Willian

and

Nicolas

Pepe

will present the same distractions for

Arteta

as

Mesut Ozil

did.

Mesut Ozil made a move to Turkish football with

Fenerbahce

after a seven-and-a-half-year spell at the north London club.

will now be able to adjust their focus and start taking advantage of those who have a part to play. However, there are still some problems for Arteta to solve, with Willian and Pepe remaining at the top of an unfortunate to-do list.

Former Arsenal striker Smith has told Stadium Astro of a Brazilian forward

: “It’s not about age, he’s fit enough, it’s not that he can’t run as he still has that little burst of acceleration. It all comes down to attitude.

“If the approach isn’t right and he hasn’t got that hunger, then you aren’t going to get a performance out of him. This is something for Arteta. Can he work with him on the training ground?”

“He’s worked hard to get Ozil out of the club, but he will turn to Willian and Pepe now to get more out of these players.”

Ivorian winger Pepe is another to have struggled to impress, with a club-record £72 million ($98m) transfer fee invested in his potential back in 2019.

Smith said of the 25-year-old

: “He’s in his second season now, it’s not like he is still adjusting to a new country and a new league.

“He’s one of those players that can produce a bit of magic but on other occasions his football intelligence looks short.

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