There was good news for Arsenal fans as Alexandre Lacazette returned to training earlier this week for the first time since mid-February after keyhole surgery on his knee.
Lacazette is sure to be Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger’s, first choice striker in the Europa League when the Gunners take on CSKA Moscow in the quarter-finals – given that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is cup tied.
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The French striker’s return is a timely boost, as the Gunners will be looking for a way into the Champions League next season after a disappointing Premier League campaign.
The striker struggled for confidence before his surgery after a positive start to life at the Emirates.
He has scored nine goals in 24 league appearances – but found himself regularly taken off at around the 70 minute mark – which caused Arsenal fans to question Wenger’s tactical choice.
Back to training with my teammates // De retour à l’entraînement avec mes coéquipiers ????? pic.twitter.com/CirVk2518q
— Alexandre Lacazette (@LacazetteAlex) March 26, 2018
Why does Arsene Wenger always substitute Alexandre Lacazette?
Wenger revealed the reasons why he frequently does this and told the Arsenal magazine:
“I must say that [Lacazette] plays in a position where you sub more than say a defender.
“You substitute a striker more than you would a defender, because they always have to provoke, to defend, to attack, you have to create holes in the defences. The strikers are more subbed than others.
“Secondly, he was in an adaptation period where I felt that, without any objective measurement, that sometimes he struggled a bit more in the second part of the game, especially in the last 20 minutes, to create the movement he can.
“I put that down to an adaptation period. It was not so much physically – that didn’t drop so much – it just looked like he was a bit less sharp.”