Arsene Wenger has said that Alexandre Lacazette is not ready to play 90 minutes yet, after hooking the striker off after the hour mark in Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Chelsea.
Our record signing has only completed 90 minutes once so far this season. He completed the 4-3 win over Leicester, a game where we needed to come from behind to win.
Lacazette was withdrawn late on against Stoke City, Bournemouth and Chelsea, while he started on the bench away to Liverpool. Wenger has urged patience with the Frenchman, stating that he isn’t yet ready to play 90 minutes in the Premier League consistently.
“I felt Lacazette had a very good first half, he worked hard for the team and was very disciplined,” Wenger said, reports the Evening Standard. “It takes him some time to maintain that intensity for 90 minutes.
“Don’t forget I have [Theo] Walcott, [Olivier] Giroud and [Alexis] Sanchez on the bench. After 65 minutes in a game of that intensity it’s normal that you bring fresh legs on. Does he understand that? I never ask any striker to understand that he has to make room for someone else. You never can do that.”
Having cost so much money, there’s an expectation for Lacazette to start every minute of every game. However, I believe the last thing Arsenal want is to run him into the ground early and risk injury. Being cautious with his minutes is a sensible approach, especially with the hectic winter schedule in mind, I feel.
From what I saw, Lacazette was tiring against Chelsea and, with Arsenal looking to continue their staunch defensive effort, was replaced by Alexis Sanchez. There’s nothing else to read into the change other than a tired player being replaced by a fresher one.
The trend will likely continue, as after the Doncaster game on Wednesday, Arsenal will be playing three games within seven days.