Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole claims Mikel Arteta doesn’t believe in Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette after their 4-2 win over Leeds United on Sunday.
The Frenchman was on the bench against the Yorkshire outfit as Arteta played Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang through the middle, with great reward.
Aubameyang scored a hat-trick as Lacazette didn’t make it onto the pitch and Cole thinks Arteta lacks belief in the 29-year-old.
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Cole told talkSPORT: “Look at Lacazette and I’m disappointed for him because I don’t think Arteta believes in him.
“He’s looking at Aubameyang coming back in after two games on the bench, gets himself a hat-trick… he’ll be saying to himself, ‘that could have been me.’”
Meanwhile, Arsenal legend Perry Groves thinks the Gunners should hold onto Lacazette this summer.
Groves said: “As an Arsenal fan, I wouldn’t want him to go. When he’s playing, if it’s not going right, he gets the hook after an hour or 70 minutes.
“He’s played seven games on the spin, Arsenal haven’t been great and then you’re playing against Leeds where you know they concede goals for fun and you get left out.
“He’ll be looking at that thinking, ‘do me a favour, this is the game I should be playing in.’”
When asked about Aubameyang’s performance against Leeds, Arteta said: “Yes, I thought he was superb today. He’s been training really well in the last week or so, he was back to normal, he looked really committed in training, really hungry.
“I think today he had a great performance, not only for the goals but for the way he worked without the ball as well. The amount of pressure he put on every Leeds defender and he set the tone for the team. I’m delighted for him, he deserves it.”
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