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Unai Emery says Nicolas Pepe missing a sitter was partly responsible for their 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United.
The Gunners returned to Premier League action for the first time in two weeks, but were lacklustre as the Blades secured another home league win.
Emery’s side were unable to bounce back after Lys Mousset opened the scoring in the first half.
Pepe missed a guilt-edge chance at 0-0, and the Gunners failed to create much more against a resilient Sheffield Utd defence.
Arsenal missed the chance to take 3rd in the Premier League and Emery has partly blamed £72m flop Pepe.
He moaned: “The chance for us, for Pepe, was the key.
£72m man Nicolas Pepe has just one goal to his name this season
“Because if they score the first goal, defensively they are a very strong team.
“Pepe is improving but the next step for him is to score.
“Usually he is going to score chances like that – but tonight he didn’t take his chance.”
Emery also believes VAR missed a “clear penalty” when Sokratis appeared to be hauled down by John Egan in the sixth minute.
The Spaniard said: “I was on the bench and I saw it perfectly.
“He won the timing of the header and for me it was a clear penalty.
“I think the VAR is for this reason. We need to help the referees.”
Up next, Arsenal will face Vitoria SC in the Europa League.
