Mikel Arteta chose to drop Alexandre Lacazette to the bench against the Magpies last weekend and start Eddie Nketiah upfront and now the manager has explained why he chose to drop the Frenchman to the bench.
The manager has explained that the youngster has been training really well for the past couple of weeks which is why he made the decision to drop Alexandre Lacazette vs Newcastle United.
The manager told Arsenal.com: “The message is very clear, whoever trains like they do and I see that they have the abilities, the quality and their hunger like he’s done to perform today, he’s got a chance to play.
“Today I decided to play Eddie because he has been training in a phenomenal way, I decided for him not to go on loan and to stay and as well I have to support that decision. Laca has been playing all the games with me, he hasn’t scored and I told him the decision why and he accepted really well.
“I said ‘come out and you will score a goal’, he did and I’m so pleased not just for the goal, but for the reaction of all his teammates and the staff.
“They showed how much they love him and the reason why is because this guy works his balls off every day.”
Will Alexandre Lacazette be dropped vs Olympiacos?
This will be the first European game in charge for Mikel Arteta at Arsenal and there’s a chance that the manager could rest some of his big names for Thursday’s clash.
But having said that we don’t think the manager will keep Alexandre Lacazette on the bench since the forward played only 10-odd minutes against Newcastle United last weekend.
While we are confident Lacazette will start vs Olympiacos but the forward might not last the full 90 minutes since Arsenal have an all-important clash vs Everton in the Premier League on Sunday.
