As always, if any Arsenal player is missing from training, it has become the norm to assume that it means that Mikel Arteta has had a disagreement or a falling out with the player in question, so it was no surprise that the rumours of a rift with Alexandre Lacazette surfaced after Arteta told the media that Laca was not available for Southampton because of “a private matter”.
After the game, it was announced that Lacazette had simply had a positive Covid test, and would not be available again until he came back negative, but of course this didn’t stop the whispers from continuing.
But now the Arsenal expert David Ornstein has been speaking to his contacts at the club, and he assures the fans that there is not a problem with Arteta, not even over his interview where he admitted he would be leaving. Ornatein told the Athletic: “Let’s address Lacazette immediately. He missed the defeat to Southampton at the weekend with what Mikel Arteta called a covid positive test,”
“I’ve got no reason to doubt that or information to do so. I’ve seen some suggestions rumbling around. In his press conference before Southampton I think he referred to it as a private matter, which personal health presumably comes under that bracket.
“I’ve spoken to people around the situation to check out these rumours and nobody has come back to me to say that there has been a fall out with Lacazette or a disciplinary issue. [Just that] he was still testing positive for covid was all that I heard.”
I think we can now kick these rumours into touch now, especially as Lacazette has returned to training and will now be in contention to play against Chelsea…