Mikel Arteta backs Lacazette to fire Arsenal into top four… but goal-shy striker’s stats are worst in Gunners career

MIKEL ARTETA is relying on Alexandre Lacazette to fire Arsenal into the top four before he signs off in the summer.

But the goal-shy striker has been told he needs to improve his strike rate if he wants to help seal Champions League qualification.

The pressure is on Alexandre Lacazette to find his shooting boots againCredit: Getty

Lacazette, 30, who signed for Arsenal in a £52million deal from Lyon in 2017, has managed just three League goals all season and has not scored since slotting a penalty in the 5-0 Boxing Day win at Norwich.

But with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joining Barcelona and Folarin Balogun sent on loan to Middlesbrough in the January transfer window, the French ace and misfiring Eddie Nketiah are the only central strikers left available to Arsenal.

And Arteta is praying Lacazette can end his goal drought against top-four rivals Wolves tonight.

He said: “Laca has a really important role in the team and, like everybody that plays in the front positions, we want him to score goals as well as create them.

“He’s had some chances in the last few weeks and has been unlucky not to score so we need him to keep getting into the positions we ask him to be in.

“He knows as a striker what is demanded of him and he has to live with the expectations.

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“He is doing a lot of right things in attack, in and out of possession, and he needs to continue to do that and generate chances for his team-mates.

“But I am sure the ball will go in the net for him very soon.”

Arteta is also planning to address Arsenal’s complicated chain of command after the recent confusion surrounding the team captaincy.

Lacazette, who is in the final few months of his Emirates contract and is free to open negotiations with foreign teams, has been leading the team since Aubameyang fell out of favour two months ago.

But when he was substituted during Saturday’s 2-1 win against Brentford, Granit Xhaka turned down the opportunity to take over the armband which was eventually handed to Kieran Tierney.

Arteta explained: “The captaincy order is defined and Granit said Kieran was next in line and I think he was really proud to wear the armband.

“At the moment the order is Laca and then Rob Holding when he is playing.”

“I understand that it’s confusing so we will have a thorough process in the summer when we have no matches and time to sort it out the right way, the way I want to do it.”

The aim for this club has to be to play in the Champions League every year
Mikel Arteta

Having won away at Wolves two weeks ago, victory tonight would take Arsenal to within one point of fourth-placed Manchester United with two games in hand

Arteta said: “We know the race for the top four is going right to the end and getting the points when we play at home will be crucial.

“The aim for this club has to be to play in the Champions League every year and compete against the best teams in the world.

“It’s one of the best feelings in the world for a player to be challenging himself against that type of opposition.

“It’s a competition which brings a different dimension and one which is attached to this club.”

ARSENAL (likely): Ramsdale; Cedric, White, Gabriel, Tierney; Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe; Lacazette.

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Mikel Arteta has thrown his support behind the out-of-contract No9Credit: Getty

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk

Mikel Arteta backs Lacazette to fire Arsenal into top four… but goal-shy striker’s stats are worst in Gunners career

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