Arsene Wenger says that hisdespite protestations to the contrary, Alexandre Lacazette is frustrated by his first season in English football.

The French striker has scored 8 times so far, but is now 9 games without a goal as he experiences a mid-season slump.

The Arsenal manager says it’s normal in a debut campaign in England, as players get used to the differences in refereeing.

“What he has worked on is to cope with the intensity of the challenges,” said Wenger. “In France, if you go down it’s a free-kick.

“In England, you go down and it’s no free-kick. That is much more difficult for a striker to get used to.

“This guy is used to scoring 30 goals per year so at the moment, even if he says no, I am sure he is frustrated.

“It is always a surprise for the players. You accelerate and play more and the body needs to get used to it, the mind as well.

“It’s a difficult period, the first year, because the family comes over and it’s a bit less football-orientated.

“But you get used to it and he has played many games until now and I would say that the physical pressure on the strikers here in England has become absolutely massive.

“The defenders have become much quicker than before. They are all athletes now at the back.”

The Gunners could do with Lacazette finding some goal scoring form again tomorrow, with just two wins from eight in the league, three points are well overdue.