Arsene Wenger reveals real reason why Alexandre Lacazette is substituted regularly

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has lifted the lid as to why Alexandre Lacazette has got substituted regularly during the second half of Premier League games this season.

The France international joined the Gunners from Lyon last summer for a then-record fee of £46.5m, and he has since accumulated a decent tally of nine goals in 26 appearances.

Despite this, the 26-year-old has managed to finish the entire 90 minutes on just six occasions, and Wenger has now indicated that the move was rather enforced with the striker lacking the sharpness to cope with the entire game.

He told Arsenal Player: "I must say that [Lacazette] plays in a position where you sub more than say a defender. I put that down to an adaptation period. It was not so much physically – that didn’t drop so much – it just looked like he was a bit less sharp."

Lacazette has not featured for the Gunners since his knee surgery in early February, but he has returned to first-team training ahead of this weekend's league outing versus Stoke City.

Arsenal also have a key Europa League quarter-final against CSKA Moscow later in the month, and Wenger may opt to start Lacazette on the bench with a view to the midweek showdown.