Arsenal assistant manager Steve Bould has claimed that Alexandre Lacazette has the versatility to play as a number 10 as he battles to carve out a role in Arsene Wenger’s side.

Lacazette is set to return to the Arsenal squad for the first time in over a month after undergoing knee surgery and is expected to feature in some capacity in Sunday’s game against Stoke.

However recent months have led to growing debate over the one-time record signings role in the Arsenal squad. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was brought in from Borussia Dortmund for £56million, likely relegating Lacazette to a back-up role unless Wenger breaks the habit of a decade and plays two central strikers.

Bould believes he has a solution to that, though competition for supporting roles behind the forward is no less intense with Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in fine fettle.

“He’s actually a very, very, very good football player,” Bould said of Lacazette. “He could play at number 10 – he’s really good.

“He’s not just a goalscorer, he’s not an out-and-out striker, he can play.

“The physical element has surprised him and caught up with him, which it does to many players who come from abroad. We’re hoping he comes back sharp.”

Lacazette has not featured for Arsenal since a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham on February 10, when the substitute spurned a crucial late chance that could have earned his side a vital late point.

That miss wrapped up a barren spell in which the 26-year-old, who had made a fast start to life at Arsenal after his £53m move from Lyon in July, scored only one goal in 13 games.

“This little break might have done him the world of good actually,” Bould said. “The Premier League is absolutely different compared to the French league.

“I think he’s found it physically tougher. It might be a blessing in disguise having that month off and coming back fighting.

“Dennis Bergkamp went through [struggles]. Lots of the great players go through these times. It’s not a worry.”

Lacazette’s redemption could come in the Europa League, for which Aubameyang is ineligible due to Borussia Dortmund’s participation in the knockout stages of the competition. The knee injury ruled him out of the rounds of 32 and 16, where Danny Welbeck was the only senior striker available to Wenger.