Granit Xhaka wants more people to understand just how important Alexandre Lacazette is for Arsenal on and off the pitch as uncertainty remains over the forward\u2019s future at the club.<\/p>\n
Lacazette netted his first goal since Boxing Day on Sunday when he slotted home a second-half penalty to seal a 2-0 win over Leicester that saw Arsenal climb back into the top four.<\/p>\n
Lacazette\u2019s spot-kick was only his sixth goal of the season and he has not scored from open play since December 11, but Gunners midfielder Xhaka is keen to highlight the 30-year-old\u2019s value to the side beyond his strike rate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the end, people want him to score. People only see if players score,\u201d Xhaka said to Premier League Productions.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut people sometimes don\u2019t see how important he is for us, not only on the pitch but as well off the pitch. On the pitch, he is an amazing player and he understands the game so good with the quality he has.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope now after this three, four, five, six weeks they (people) understand how important he is for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The France international\u2019s long-term future in an Arsenal shirt is far from certain however, after manager Mikel Arteta said before the Leicester game that a decision would be made about the former Lyon striker at the end of the season.<\/p>\n
Whether or not Lacazette is still at the Emirates next term, he has been playing a major part in Arsenal\u2019s impressive push for a return to the Champions League for the first time since Arsene Wenger was in charge.<\/p>\n
He has started each of the last six matches which have seen Arsenal pick up five successive wins since drawing with Burnley.<\/p>\n
That form has left the Gunners in a strong position in the race for a top-four finish, lying a point above fifth-placed Manchester United and with three games in hand on the three teams immediately below them.<\/p>\n
Arsenal\u2019s unbeaten run faces its biggest test on Wednesday however when they host red-hot Liverpool, and Xhaka knows they will probably need to find an extra gear.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are winning, that\u2019s now five in a row, and we now have a big game on Wednesday against Liverpool. We knew this would be a key week for us before the international break,\u201d the Switzerland international said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd let\u2019s see on Wednesday, we have to maybe perform better (than against Leicester).\u201d<\/p>\n
Leicester had also been in fine form heading into Sunday\u2019s game, winning five of their previous six games in all competitions.<\/p>\n
However, they are having to mix Europa Conference League football alongside a Premier League campaign and manager Brendan Rodgers admits that the short turnaround between fixtures has been a challenge for his Foxes squad.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery much so (it is difficult),\u201d said Rodgers, whose side fell behind against Arsenal to an early Thomas Partey header.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhysically it\u2019s tough for us, that and having so many players out throughout the season. That depth of quality probably isn\u2019t in our squad that lots of teams in Europe, especially the top end of the league, would have.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I will say that the players give everything, we just have to somewhere along the line try and recover players.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Granit Xhaka wants more people to understand just how important Alexandre Lacazette is for Arsenal on and off the pitch as uncertainty remains over the forward\u2019s future at the club. Lacazette netted his first goal since Boxing Day on Sunday when he slotted home a second-half penalty to seal a 2-0 win over Leicester that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n