Arsenal: Arsene Wenger Alexandre Lacazette excuse doesn’t quite fly

Arsene Wenger has stated that he substitutes Arsenal striker, Alexandre Lacazette, frequently because of the physical drop-off that strikers suffer. His excuse, though, doesn’t quite fly. Here’s why.

It was a highly frustrating feature of the opening half of the season, Arsene Wenger’s insistence to consistently substitute Alexandre Lacazette. Clearly, there was a reason, or reasons, for doing it, but we were never privy to them. It was difficult to understand. Arsenal looked more dangerous with Lacazette on the pitch. So why continually take him off?

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Well, now we have an answer, apparently. This is what Wenger had to say when asked about his relentless substituting of Lacazette:

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"“We know the players’ physical qualities and who we expect to drop in the second half or not. Nobody’s tired enough at half-time to be substituted for that, but in the second half you’ll see that sometimes this player will drop in the last 20 minutes <…> I must say that [he] 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.”"

Let me give you some numbers to provide a little context for the question and answer. Lacazette has made 22 Premier League starts this season. Of those 22 starts, he has only played the full 90 minutes on seven occasions. He has been substituted 15 times. That’s a lot.

Wenger’s reason, though, doesn’t quite fly. He actually provides two different ‘excuses’. The first is that some players’ physical qualities drop off more than others, implying that Lacazette, simply, gets more tired than others in the squad.

But last season for Lyon, in 28 Ligue 1 starts, he was substituted only eight times. Moreover, two of those starts were due to injury and a number came later in the year when Lyon’s focus had shifted from the league to the Europa League and Lacazette, being a key player, was regularly rested. So that doesn’t quite add up from Wenger.

The second reason also doesn’t quite work either. Wenger claims that the striking position requires more energy, stating that attackers are substituted more frequently than their defensive counterparts. In that sense, he is absolutely correct. But, again, his dealings with Pierre-Emerick Auabemeyang don’t add up.

Aubameyang has made five league starts since joining Arsenal in January, essentially as a direct improvement on and replacement for Lacazette. He has played the full 90 minutes in all five games. In fact, he has never been substituted, irrespective of the competition.

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So Wenger’s reasoning for substituting Lacazette at such a rate doesn’t quite fly with his actions and the history of the player. Certainly, there are viable reasons to substitute Lacazette at times. But the extent is a little excessive. It would be nice to see him given some extended minutes now that he has returned.