Francis Coquelin as urged Arsenal fans to be patient with Alexandre Lacazette.

Speaking at the launch of the Gunners’ new football programme at Centrepoint, Coquelin spoke about how Arsenal fans expect a lot from Lacazette and they need to give him time to get used to a new league.

“People expect a lot,” Coquelin told Standard Sport. “They’ll probably be impatient but they need to give him time because the Premier League is a tough competition. 

“We’ve seen players that need time to adapt but I’m very confident he can do that. 

“He’s got players around him that can make him shine and he’s a great goalscorer. I’m sure he’ll put the ball in the back of the net.”

After Arsenal spent a club record of £52m on Lacazette this summer, it’s understandable that fans will be watching him closely during the opening matches.

The 26-year-old scored twice in pre-season and looked sharp in the Community Shield against Chelsea, which, from what I could see, Gooners were happy with.

There seems to be this misconception among players old and new that Arsenal fans are expecting Lacazette to be scoring a hat-trick every game when, for the most part, the majority completely understand how different the Premiership is to Ligue 1 and realise that he’ll need an adjustment period.

Plenty of players do.

Coquelin isn’t the first player that’s come forward and spoken about Lacazette needing to bed in and it feels as if they’re being overly protective.

If the France international doesn’t score in the first few games, it’s nothing to freak out about, and if Arsenal fans do, that’s their issue. Not his.

What matters is that Lacazette scored 37 goals in 45 appearances for Lyon last season, he had the best conversion rate (38.89%) in Europe, he’s scored twice in pre-season, and is looking really sharp.

There’s nothing to worry about.