Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette has said he and his teammates are playing for their futures as manager Arsene Wenger prepares to leave his job after 21 years.
Lacazette, signed from Lyon by Wenger for what was briefly a club record £46.5m, said the players needed to stay focused as they prepare to take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
“We want to keep going and be good because we know that a new manager is coming,” he said.
“Maybe everything will change. We don’t know if everyone can stay in the club.”
France international Lacazette has scored seven goals in seven games since returning from injury and said he hoped to follow in some famous Arsenal footsteps against United.
“Since I was young I was dreaming about this kind of game, when Thierry Henry and everybody scored some goals,” he said.
“Of course I knew about the rivalry. I remember Sylvain Wiltord’s goal in the gold shirt [that won the Premier League title in 2002]. I was a real fan. But now it is for me to play and have a good performance as well.
“It will be hard because I have never been to Old Trafford, but I know every time you go there it is hard.”
Meanwhile, Wenger has told Sky Sports he will take some time off before making a decision about his next move.
“Once I’ve finished, honestly I don’t know,” he said. “I am confused a little bit at the moment and I have decided to take a little distance for four or five weeks before I make a decision.
“I need to move away a little bit to take perspective on my situation and analyse it in the most objective way possible, even if it is not easy.
“I will then decide where I go from there.”
Wenger said the final games of his reign in North London were proving to be a strange experience and added: “I have had 1,200 games or something like that for Arsenal Football Club.
“It’s not 50, it’s 1,200, and every time you prepare the team you are tense. It’s a complete part of your life, it’s more than part of your life — it is your life.
“Arsenal was my life, and so of course it is special.”
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