Alexandre Lacazette Admits Goal Drought 'Got to My Head' as Striker Sheds Light on Knee Injury
Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette has revealed how a goal drought during the first half of the season "got to my head", as well as shedding some light on the impact of his knee operation shortly after the busy Christmas schedule.
The France international joined Arsenal for £47m last summer - a club record fee at the time - and he moved to the Emirates with an outstanding reputation following his time in the senior team at Lyon.
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But Lacazette endured a slow start to life in north London and the 26-year-old has admitted that he was affected by the lack of goals during the first half of the campaign.
"I had never experienced that. At night, when I would go home, I would repeat to myself, 'Come on, next time it’ll go in!' But it wasn’t," Lacazette told French publication L'Equipe (via GFFN)
"And I’d only realised this after five or six matches. Suddenly, I started asking myself, 'How long has it been since I last scored a goal?' It started to bother me.
"I don’t know how the other strikers manage, but personally, it got to my head. I couldn’t blame anyone, it was all from me. I couldn’t blame the coach because he was giving me my chance on the field. I couldn’t blame my teammates since chances were being created... It was just me."
Lacazette also revealed the extent of a knee injury that forced the striker out of action for almost two months, claiming that he felt "liberated" after undergoing an operation in February.
"Before the operation, I felt pain, but I told myself that I could continue," Lacazette added. "I was going through a rough period, where I wasn’t playing well or scoring, but I didn’t want to find any excuses.
"Eventually, my knee started to lock up, so I couldn’t hope to finish the season and go to the World Cup with my knee in that condition.
"Seeing as my pain went away, I felt liberated. That time off helped me to analyse everything that happened to me during the last months."
