Alexandre Lacazette gave Arsenal an injury scare on Sunday.
Alexandre Lacazette gave Arsenal an injury scare as the club’s record signing limped off after scoring his first home goal in Sunday’s 2-1 Emirates Cup defeat against Sevilla.
Lacazette is under pressure after Arsene Wenger splashed out £52m to sign the France striker from Lyon earlier in July.
The 26-year-old shrugged off an anonymous first half to mark his maiden start at the Emirates Stadium with Arsenal’s second-half equaliser after Joaquin Correa had put the Spaniards ahead.
But Lacazette’s afternoon ended in pain when he was forced off in the closing stages of the pre-season friendly. With Arsenal due to face Chelsea in the Community Shield at Wembley on August 6, before opening their Premier League campaign against Leicester City five days later, Wenger will be hoping the injury is nothing serious.
Steven N’Zonzi scored Sevilla’s winner, but Arsenal finished top of the four-team group on goals scored to clinch the Emirates Cup for a fifth time.
Having thrashed Benfica 5-2 on Saturday, Wenger was far more interested in his team delivering a positive performance than securing a meaningless pre-season prize.
In the end, Lacazette’s injury and a sloppy defensive display meant it was a frustrating afternoon for the Arsenal manager.
Egypt midfielder Mohamed Elneny was deployed as one of Arsenal’s three centre-backs with only limited success during the team’s tour of Australia and China.
LACAZETTE IS UNDER PRESSURE AFTER ARSENE WENGER SPLASHED OUT £52M TO SIGN THE FRANCE STRIKER FROM LYON
Wenger again experimented with the positional switch and Sevilla almost took advantage of Elneny’s lack of experience in his new role when Éver Banega clipped a pass beyond the Egyptian to put Wissam Ben Yedder clear on the edge of the area.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s future remains unresolved, with Chelsea and Liverpool said to be interested in the England winger, and he was by far Arsenal’s most impressive performer, with 17-year-old Joe Willock starting alongside him in midfield.