Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has suggested that Alexandre Lacazette’s confidence may have been hampered following the arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last month. The France international has played as a substitute in his previous two appearances, the latter of which came against Tottenham Hotspur.
The Gunners struggled to find any cutting edge during last weekend’s north London derby versus Spurs, but ultimately there was some regret after Lacazette missed a couple of clear-cut chances at the end. The Gunners were trailing 1-0 heading into the final 10 minutes of the game, and the Frenchman fluffed his line on two occasions including a one-and-one with Hugo Lloris.
He told Sky Sports: “For him, one against one with the keeper, he is a good goalscorer. He has gone through difficult periods before. He works hard in training, works on his finishing. I don’t know what happened, did he not touch the ball well? ‘It can happen, it is a fraction of a second. Maybe the confidence is not at its highest because he has seen a competitor coming in for him.”
Despite his failure, Wenger is confident that the striker will retain his form in the coming matches with the club having a double-legged Europa League tie versus Ostersund where the Frenchman is likely to feature with Aubameyang ineligible.
The Spurs defeat sees the Gunners seven points behind a potential Champions League spot, and this could extend by a further point, should Chelsea end up triumphant versus West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Monday.
Regardless of this, the north Londoners could find themselves success in the Cup competitions with a key League Cup final versus Manchester City later this month whilst focus on the Europa League could also remain a necessity as winning the competition assures a place in next season’s Champions League.