I can only praise Alexandre Lacazette and give him support, asserts Mikel Arteta

02/25/2022

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted that Arsenal captain Alexandre Lacazette is behaving like someone that wants to stay at the club and insisted that the Frenchman will have his full support until the end of the season. The French striker’s current deal is set to expire in the summer.

Arsenal hosted Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Emirates Stadium in a bid to keep in touch within the Champions League spots in the Premier League. The away side started the contest well and capitalized on their dominance as Hwang Hee-Chee put his side in front after 10 minutes with a crisp finish beyond Aaron Ramsdale after an error from Gunners defender Gabriel.

Nicolas Pepe entered the game as a substitute late into the game and helped orchestrate a turnaround for the London club. The Ivory-Coast international controlled the ball well in the box and struck his shot beyond the reach of Jose Sa in the 82nd minute to equalize.

Arsenal captain Alexandre Lacazette shot from a narrow-angle and the ball found its way back into the net after a deflection in the fifth minute of stoppage time to secure a late comeback win. Arteta praised Lacazette’s efforts and extended his support to the Frenchman despite the speculation surrounding his future.

“I can only praise him and try to help him as much as possible and give him support. At the end he got the reward. For me, it's Lacazette's goal. We don't know what is going to happen at the end of the season. What he needs to do is put aside that future. It is part of our game, we don't have contracts that run for 20 years. That's part of our job and we have to be conscious of that,” Arteta told Sky Sports.

"There's nothing to tell him but to praise him because every single day he behaves like someone that wants to stay with us," he added.