Former Premier League striker Andy Cole has boldly claimed that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta does not believe in Alexandre Lacazette anymore.
The Frenchman was surprisingly dropped from the starting XI in last night’s game against Leeds United. He remained an unused substitute and his replacement – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – bagged a splendid hat-trick.
That hurts Lacazette’s chances of making his way back into the league side for our next game against Manchester City. Auba was brilliant up front yesterday, and if Cole is to be believed, Laca has no chance of starting ahead of him now.
He told TalkSport: “Look at Lacazette and I’m disappointed for him because I don’t think Arteta believes in him.
“He’s looking at Aubameyang coming back in after two games on the bench, gets himself a hat-trick… he’ll be saying to himself, ‘that could have been me.’”
Arsenal Insider’s view:
Has Arteta lost faith in Lacazette? We don’t think so.
The Frenchman, labelled a fantastic player by Virgil van Dijk, was our top-scorer this season until Auba leapfrogged him yesterday. The Gabon star is just a better option against a side like Leeds who are very open at the back.
That does not mean he doesn’t believe in Lacazette anymore. The former Lyon man is a very important part of our side against teams who defend deep. He drags defenders out of position and that opens up space for our other attackers to exploit.
Lacazette is expected to start against Benfica on Thursday and he will be looking to make his mark. If he does, Arteta will have a tough decision to make over who starts up front against City on Sunday.
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