‘He’s thinking about it’: Ian Wright suggests Arteta’s words have worried £46m Arsenal star

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Ian Wright has suggested on the Wrighty’s House podcast that Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette is seriously low on confidence at the moment.

Lacazette has made an awful start to the campaign, despite being consistently picked to start by Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.

The £46 million Frenchman (BBC Sport) has scored three goals in nine matches, but has not hit the back of the net since the first month of the season.

Lacazette has now gone goalless through his last five appearances, and his latest showing was awful.

The 29-year-old missed a gilt-edged chance for Arsenal against Aston Villa, as he headed wide from close range.

And Wright has suggested that he is worried by Arteta’s comments, after the Spanish boss bemoaned his side’s lack of ruthlessness in front of goal.

“With the chance he had, for me, even with no one in the ground, you could see he’s going through that spell as a forward where he’s thinking about his next chance. ‘He’s actually thinking about it,” Wright said.

“I’ve seen him do a couple of headers now where you can tell he’s thinking about it. He’s thinking about it. ‘Where that ball came in, you don’t need to think about it, you just need to get it on target. Just control it.

“I believe that even with no fans in there, he’s thinking about his next chance. He’s thinking about the consequences of missing. He’s thinking about the fact Arteta is saying “we’re not taking our chances”.

“You need to get into the positions where you will score goals and then do what you’ve done for years.’”

Lacazette is far from the only Arsenal player off form right now, but he has receiving a great deal of criticism for his performances.

Many Arsenal fans have suggested that Pierre Emerick Aubameyang should be played through the middle, rather than out wide, with Lacazette dropped to the bench.

Arsenal are next in action after the international break when they take on Leeds United.

Wrighty’s House is the latest podcast from The Ringer with host Ian Wright with new episodes every Wednesday. The podcast will be available exclusively on Spotify. You can listen here.