Former Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna has issued his support to Alexandre Lacazette, who has been criticised recently.
Lacazette was the Gunners’ player of the season during the 2018/19 campaign, but has scored only nine goals this season.
The French forward endured a nine-game goalless drought between December and February and has now seen Eddie Nketiah jump above him in the pecking order.
Sagna has praised Lacazette, though, and has come to his defence, describing his French countryman as “amazing” and “vital”.
“Laca is vital. He is the type of player who gives everything for the team,” Sagna said to Goal.
“Of course you always see the one scoring the goals, like (Pierre-Emerick) Aubameyang - who is a goalscoring machine - but the amount of work that Laca puts in is amazing.
“The way he holds the ball, the way he fights for the ball, the way he presses the defence. This is invisible work that not everyone will see. But for Arsenal’s system and the way they want to play, he is amazing.”
Lacazette has scored seven goals in 20 games in the Premier League this season, a total that is 10 fewer than Aubameyang’s 17.
The two have shown at times during their respective Arsenal careers that they can work together, but it usually means one of them goes out wide rather than playing alongside each other.
Usually, Aubameyang plays on the left-hand side to accommodate Lacazette, who operates in the centre of the front three.
“He can score many goals, in front of the goal, he is clinical,” the former Gunners right-back added.
“But most of the time, he has his back to the goal. When he receives the ball, he is trying to protect and defend the ball for other players.
“He is getting kicked for his team-mates and this is why, for me, he is vital to the Arsenal system.
“He is running a lot. You know how tiring it is to run all the time and press from the front? It’s very tiring, people do not realise how difficult it is.
“On top of this, yes, you have to score goals. People will ask to score goals because we only remember goalscorers, but he is doing a lot.”
