Arsenal: Is it time to stop substituting Alexandre Lacazette?

Alexandre Lacazette has been substituted more times than any other player in the Premier League. Is it time for the Arsenal striker to play the full 90 minutes?

Arsene Wenger’s substitutions have been frustrating for many, many years. They seem to be pre-planned. They lack conviction or purpose. They often leave an amalgamation of uncertainty and doubt. And, most of the time, they are too slow, waiting until late in the game to ever make any changes, in terms of tactics or personnel.

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And this season, Wenger has lived up to his reputation. Specifically, his handling of his star striker has been most maddening: Alexandre Lacazette has made 17 starts in the Premier League this season; he has been substituted on 14 occasions, which is more than any other player in the country.

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Earlier in the season, bringing him off made sense. He is a smaller, slighter player. He has no prior experience of English football. He is adapting to a new team, new surroundings and new teammates. Running him into the ground by playing him every minute of every game is not perhaps the wisest management. And Wenger has been hesitant with new signings who have not played in the Premier League before in the past. This is just another example.

But there comes a point when the time of adaptation must end; there comes a point when key members of the squad must be trusted and leaned on, not protected and rested. Lacazette, in being the club record signing, is certainly one of those players. But Wenger seems hesitant to place his trust in Lacazette for the full 90 minutes.

When he had Olivier Giroud to turn to, a player that offers a completely different threat to Lacazette because of his combination of size and strength, it was a little more understandable.

But like against Crystal Palace on Thursday night, Wenger did not have another option to turn to. And yet, Lacazette was still hauled off after the 72nd minute, with Wenger looking to Francis Coquelin to provide a little stability and steel in the Arsenal midfield with a two-goal lead.

Lacazette, moreover, has looked increasingly frustrated with Wenger substituting him. That is perhaps a by-product of his failure to score — the Frenchman has gone five games with a blank. But strikers are confidence-based players. They thrive when they feel good; they falter when their self-belief is frail. If leaving Lacazette on gives him a better chance to grab that elusive goal, then leave him on.

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It’s time for Wenger to stop with his substituting of his star striker; it’s time for him to trust him.