Alexandre Lacazette was the marquee striker we all thought we needed, but things have worked out a lot differently than expected.

There was near unanimous delight when Lacazette joined the club in the summer.

He was our new record signing and arrived with a pedigree not found in Arsenal’s other strikers. He was to provide that quality we had been missing in the final third.

For a time, he lived up to the billing. Even now, he remains the club’s top scorer with nine goals.

Now, though, things are very different.

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 03: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal (not pictured) team shirt is seen in the club shop ahead of the Premier League match between Arsenal and Everton at Emirates Stadium on February 3, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 03: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal team shirt is seen in the club shop ahead of the Premier League match between Arsenal and Everton at Emirates Stadium on February 3, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

The Frenchman has been replaced with a new record signing: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Suddenly, he’s gone from the new hope to old news.

He’s seven months into his Arsenal career and already there’s a creeping feeling he wasn’t the answer.

The question is: what happens next?

Arsene Wenger said he’d try to find a way for him and Aubameyang to play together, but seems determined to lean on his rotation policy.

“I will try to find a way to do it, you know,” he said, as reported by the Evening Standard.

“We play so many games that everyone will get games.

“Let’s not forget that for example Aubamyenag is banned in Europe so he cannot play there, Mkhitaryan is banned in the League Cup final.”

In which case, Lacazette would become the new Olivier Giroud, leading the line in the Europa League while Aubameyang heads the Premier League team – a far cry from what he would have expected when he joined.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 24: Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal looks on during the Carabao Cup Semi-Final Second Leg at Emirates Stadium on January 24, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

He might feel betrayed by the club.

It’s likely he was sold the dream of playing with Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez all season. Top players want to play with other top players, and he would have been no different.

That combination never got going. Lacazette found himself playing with Alex Iwobi and Danny Welbeck more until Sanchez was let go in January.

As the club’s former record singing, he might have felt that he’d be an important part of the team.

He then found himself on the bench for big away games at Liverpool and Manchester City.

When he did start, he was leading the line in a team that wasn’t configured to get the best out of him.

The initial burst of goals dried up. With every game he didn’t score, and with every substitution, you could see a mounting frustration.

Then, just when he could have done with a show of faith, the club went and signed a new striker.

Part of him will have understood that this is just the cut-throat nature of football.

It’s also too early to give up on being Arsenal’s leading man.

The signs suggest he’s no longer our go-to striker, but he has demonstrated quality. He’s also still adapting to life in the Premier League.

Maybe, with something to prove to his club, he will make the most of the chances that come his way.