Freddie Ljungberg lauded Arsenal pair Gabriel Martinelli and Nicolas Pepe after they helped the Gunners end a nine-match winless run at West Ham on Monday evening.
Angelo Ogbonna’s first-half header appeared to have the visitors on the verge of an even bigger crisis, but three goals in the space of nine minutes changed everything.
Interim boss Ljungberg had made the bold decision to drop Alexandre Lacazette for young Brazilian Martinelli and it paid off when the teenager equalised on the hour mark.
Record signing Nicolas Pepe then took centre stage, putting Arsenal 2-1 up six minutes later before he assisted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to wrap up the points at London Stadium.
Ljungberg said: “Gabi is a fantastic player, very, very young, but he has that energy about him and he goes and he goes.
“There is no fear and he just keeps on going. It is a pleasure to see him on the pitch and for him to get the success he did, it puts a smile on your face.
“People always ask me about Nico and I try to explain he comes from the French league and comes to the Premier League – in my opinion the best league in the world – and it’s a lot faster and a lot harder.
“He needs to adapt. People put pressure on him, but it’s not so easy and I thought what he did (against West Ham) was he worked really hard offensively and defensively.
“And he showed his quality and I’m so pleased for him. He was a big, big buy for the club and there comes pressure with that, but he will fall asleep with a smile.”
