The French striker has found himself on the bench in recent games, with Eddie Nketiah preferring to start in front of him
Mikel Arteta says Alexandre Lacazette must play confidently to regain his starting point at Arsenal.
The Frenchman has not started any of the last four games of the Gunners’ Premier League, although he has scored in two of his last three appearances on the bench.
Lately Arteta has preferred Eddie Nketiah, 21, and there have been suggestions that Lacazette could be sold to raise money for the Spaniard’s rebuilding of the Arsenal team.
But, before Saturday’s trip to Brighton, Arteta was full of praise for the out of favor striker.
“Alex is a player I’ve always liked because he’s the type of striker who can do a little bit of everything,” said Arteta.
“He has a lot of talent in combining and connecting with others [players], his work rate and the way he competes for each ball is rarely found in an attacker – and therefore has the ability to put the ball on the net whenever he is in front of the goal.
“It has been a difficult season for him – also for other players – but we have tried to manage it.
“He has a lot of continuity with me, but he had that shot in which he found it difficult to score goals.
“I think in the last few weeks it has looked much better, it has been a threat and has marked some important goals for us too.”
Lacazette has scored 45 goals in 115 games for Arsenal in all competitions since joining Lyon in 2017.
He found the consistency more difficult to find this season, and Arteta wants to see him play again with a swagger.
“I just want to give him security, play time and the way it came yesterday [in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City] he showed a lot of willingness to help the team and I’m happy with him, “he said.
“We have two forwards who have to fight for their places and I want that kind of team competition.
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“Everyone needs [confidence] and an attacker probably more than any other player on the pitch because, in the end, confidence is tied to the amount of goals per minute they score.
“They can do everything well, but in the end they are judged by the amount of goals they are scoring.
“It’s the same for everyone, but how do you get manager confidence? The way you train, translate it the way you play, or if you don’t play then you have the excuse that you don’t trust, it’s always like that.”
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