The Ivorian was one of the major summer transfers but has struggled to find form since his move to the Emirates.
Nicolas Pepe has admitted he has not yet lived up to his prize tag at Arsenal but he is happy Unai Emery believes in him.
The Ivorian joined the north London side from Lille during the summer in a club record £70 million deal, and has struggled to find his feet at the Emirates, until his brace in Arsenal's Europa League win on Thursday.
After his two late free-kicks helped Arsenal seal a 3-2 to comeback against Portuguese club Vitoria Guimaraes, the forward said: “As soon as I arrived Pierre {Emerick Aubameyang] and Alexandre [Lacazette] helped me. I talked a lot to them.
“The manager trusts me. Even if I hadn’t been decisive, I had the manager’s trust. It is always important to have the manager’s faith.
“Of course I knew it would be hard. This is a league totally different to Ligue 1. There is a different intensity.
“I had to adapt quickly because expectations were high. Unfortunately, that is not what I did at the beginning - but I had the manager’s trust and the players have supported me. I keep working hard."
The 24-year-old continued: “The key is to have good people around you. I have my family here with me so I could be good mentally when things were not going well.
"I rely a lot on them. It was always going to be difficult to come here to the unknown, with a different language.
“I am not at my best physically because I didn't have a proper pre-season. I was at the African Cup of Nations. I am trying to work hard to be stronger physically.”
Comentarios