Despite Alexandre Lacazette barely playing quarter of an hour against Benfica, Arsenal fans have already made up their minds about the former Lyon striker.

Lacazette came on in the 76th minute during Arsenal’s 5-2 win against Benfica in the Emirates Cup on Saturday afternoon.

The striker was instantly put on the wing, where he found it difficult to get involved, particularly as Olivier Giroud is currently playing as if his career depends on it.

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/891341318965915648

Granted, the 26-year-old’s first tough hasn’t been the strongest in pre-season, which is something we noticed when he played against Chelsea.

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However, given the France international is just getting used to new teammates and a new system, you’d think we could cut him some slack and hope that this improves with his confidence.

Last season he scored 37 goals in 45 appearances for Lyon, and he’s already scored his first for Arsenal against Sydney FC. He’s more than capable.

What’s more, Lacazette had the best conversion rate in Europe – 38.9%.

While I’m not under any illusions that what we saw from Lacazette against Benfica in the 14 minutes he was on the pitch was life-changing, it’s shocking to see how many Gooners have written him off already.

Perhaps it’s the club record transfer fee of £52m, which the striker will be well aware of. Or perhaps fans are frustrated and expecting miracles.

What we can deduce from these pre-season matches is that Giroud, who Arsene Wenger insists is staying, isn’t giving up his first team spot without a fight, which is exactly what the team needs.

Competition is healthy and Arsenal fans should now be glad that we’ve got two brilliant strikers at the club going into next season, whether Alexis Sanchez stays in north London or not.

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