Alexandre Lacazette arrived at Arsenal from Lyon as our most expensive signing ever, but despite scoring 6 goals for the Gunners he has rarely played the whole 90 minutes in any game so far. He has not been playing in any cup matches at all, and he wasn’t even given a starting spot in our away matches against Liverpool and Man City, two of our most difficult games this season. Laca was finally brought on (and scored!) against City, and after the game Alan Shearer suggested that the striker should be asking Arsene Wenger the reasons for his exclusion.
But, according to his agent David Venditelli, Lacazette has no problem with Arsene Wenger as yet. “It’s not worrying, because he played at Chelsea,” Venditelli said. “Our way of working is to relativise things: 11 matches, nine starts. Of course, it’s not nice to see that he didn’t start that match, but it wa, as Arsene Wenger explained, for tactical reasons.
“He’s learning. Alex needs to have calm around him. He’s happy, and Arsenal are too with his work. It’s not because a player doesn’t play, even though it’s two important games of course. He would have preferred to have played them.”
“When you’re outside the club, I can understand the questions,”
“I understand, but I think Alex isn’t complaining about his playing time, even if he would prefer to start games like those against City or Liverpool.
“But he talks to the manager, the staff — there’s no problem. Afterwards, there’s a choice made. You can’t, every time your player doesn’t play, even if it’s Alexandre Lacazette, knock on the door or pick up the phone and talk to the manager. No, no, it’s not time yet. Everything is fine.”
Lacazette may not be complaining, but Arsenal fans are! Why on Earth can it be tactical to leave your most likely goalscorer on the bench when you are facing your toughest opponents? Against Man City, Wenger played Alexis as the main striker, when the Chilean is not in his best form and only scored once this season. It makes no sense at all!
Darren N.
If I was advising Lacazette, I would tell him to get out asap! Put in a transfer request at the end of the season, and leave next summer.
The manager doesn’t have faith in him, Alexis, Ozil, and God knows how many other of our top players will be leaving next summer, the manager has completely lost the plot, and the dressing room, the owner doesn’t care, the fans are in turmoil, plenty of empty seats at the Emirates, no CL football, maybe no European football at all next season, we don’t pay the top wages…why stay?
The realist strikes again, thankfully. I would advise all Arsenal players to leave as soon as possible, from their own career point of view as the club is falling apart and going from a regular top four team to a regular mid table team . And lower still if the present regime are still on board. Quite seriously, I no longer care about signing this or that player, because I know full well, everything is secondary to the need to get Wenger out of our club. This has to be our overriding aim, above all else.
People I know we all hate Arsenal and Arsene Wenger but all that has happened is Arsenal go from a top 4 team to a top 6 team. It totally sucks but you people make it seem we going to get relegated or finish 16th. I know it shouldn’t be our target but Arsenal can still make top four. We just need to beat the teams we expected to beat. Stoke away and watford away should have been 6 points. I honestly believe we can beat Liverpool and Chelsea to the top four. We just need to be more consistent. Like who honestly believed we were going to beat City or Liverpool or Chelsea away from home/ We haven’t beaten the top 6 away from home since 2015/16. It’s the games like Watford or Swansea whom were are supposed to beat but somehow become complacent. Remember Watford at home last season? That’s three points that would have taken us into the top four.
I know everyone is putting massive question marks on Arsene Wengers tactics lately, and with good reason I might add! But surely Lacazette is carrying an injury of some sort??
Why on earth would you not play a player with his talent and risk upsetting the player as well as the fans? Okay, scrap the fans because we don’t count of course but, you know where i’m coming from, right?
I’m possibly thinking (dangerously again) that Lacazette has already upset Wenger with some “training ground” remark about how he failed to sign his friend (Lamar). It obviously didn’t go down well and now Wenger is flexing his “Don’t question me” muscle again!
If it’s not something like this, then why is he not starting? Even Wenger’s tactics can’t be that screwed up, can they?
Ray, the simple answer to your final sentence question is, YES THEY CAN AND YES THEY ARE!
If he was carrying an injury he would not have played at all. Wenger is just irrational and has lost it years ago.
Sorry to hog the chat but, having said what I just said, I suddenly realise that I may be totally wrong still.. I’m now thinking that Arsene Wenger is simply, a Masochist!?
It all makes sense now. He’s torturing us all (players included). Hell, he even tortures himself with the long padded coat and awkward pockets!!
I’ve been so dumb! how did I not see it before!!
Ray, I would call him a sadist , as he inflicts pain on us all and I rather suspect, being power mad, he enjoys it too.
Has anyone got a sense of humour any more?
giroud benches him for the national team.
He gets to start ahead if him at club level.
If giroud doesn’t complain why should he?
Griessmann is the starting (similar) player ahead of Lacazette. Giroud has different qualities to both and this is why it is difficult to understand why Arsene Wenger doesn’t start Giroud and Lacazette for the Arsenal?
Tactical reasons and Wenger in the same sentence?
Of course its not the time to complain yet but that time is coming soon. He is a new player so won’t want to complain yet. What kind of tactical decision is leaving lacazette on the bench when you still have giroud there too who can be deadly from the bench. Lets all just accept that wenger is finished. I wish he had the balls to bench ozil.
Well it won’t be long before he is complaining! He cost 52m….the most we’ve paid for a player! He’s dropped for our most important games! He’s great at what he does, I like his movement & love the goals he scores…… Get him in the team for the whole 90 minutes!! He deserves it
And don’t move him out wide minutes after he comes on to make room for Giroud against better opponents. Giroud is a great sub but not against a team that comes at you and leaves space to be explored. Giroud is too slow for that and it took some of the threat of Laca away against City IMO.
Exactly!
Am complaining.
If he’s not on the pitch Giroud should be.
And why not the two if them at some point?
Ground and aerial attack when we are already down and chasing goals. Or against smaller teams that we need goals for good GD.
Wenger clearly doesn’t believe Lacazette is able to cope physically with a full 90 minutes of a premier league match yet. Against City Wenger expected them to tire. He held Laca back to exploit that. The fact that we lost tells us the plan didn’t work. The fact that Laca scored suggests the plan had some merit. It may have been an interesting last 20 minutes if their 3rd goal had been disallowed. Lacazette is doing fine and hopefully will go on to have a great season.