Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette may have to take the hard road

Arsene Wenger admitted that Alexandre Lacazette may not understand why he did not come on against Everton last weekend. But his comments do not exactly guarantee him game time in the future. The Arsenal striker may have to take the hard road if he is to return to the starting line-up.

Alexandre Lacazette may have only signed in the summer. He may have been a £47 million club record. He may have already scored nine league goals and shown at least a glimpse of his ruthless nature in front of goal. He may be Arsenal’s top scorer this season and, other than Mesut Ozil, their only consistent attacking threat. But that has not stopped him from losing his job.

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Not only did Arsene Wenger sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang six months after Lacazette, and for £9 million more, but he proceeded to start him in the very first game that he was available for selection, something that he is normally hesitant to do with new players who have no experience of English football.

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And so, Lacazette must now work his way back into his manager’s plans, half a season after he was signed to be at the very forefront of them. And Wenger is not exactly here to help him. He has already stated that Lacazette’s place in the line-up is not guaranteed, adding that, like everyone else in the squad, he must prove why he is worthy of regular minutes, and now, when asked about why Lacazette did not feature from off the bench during the 5-1 win over Everton on Saturday, he gave this rather confusing message:

"“You do not have to understand too much [about not being able to play]. What you want is that everybody focuses on winning the game. Do they start the game or not? In this game, he didn’t come on because we had a problem with the goalkeeper. You do not want the players to understand too much about why they don’t play. They don’t understand. I completely agree with them because they want to play. That’s natural and normal.”"

It is a little unclear what he is meant to say, but this, I believe, is the jist of it: Wenger does not want his players to understand why they do not play, whether that be as a starter or a substitute. He does not want them to settle. Rather, he wants them to fight for their role and compete with other members of the squad.

If so, he is certainly not handing out any gimmies for Lacazette just because he was a record signing. He is laying down the gauntlet: Lacazette must prove his worth. Given the immediate impact of Aubameyang, topped off with a delightful chip for a full-debut goal, that will not be easy.

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Lacazette, at least for the near future, may well be resigned to the Europa League. That is certainly not where he expected to be. It is not where many fans expected him to be. And that is not where he must stay, either. But he will have to work for it. He faces an uphill road indeed.