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Arsenal's Lacazette has knee surgery, could miss more than a month

By Alex Butler

Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette will miss up to six weeks after having surgery on his knee Tuesday.

Lacazette, 26, has nine goals in 29 games for Arsenal. The French forward joined the Premier League club last summer, ending a long tenure at Lyon.

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"Striker Alex Lacazette had an arthroscopy on his left knee in London on Tuesday morning," Arsenal said in a news release Tuesday.

"The minor procedure was a success and he will now undergo a period of rehabilitation. It is envisaged that he will return to the squad within four to six weeks."

Lacazette subbed in for the Gunners in the 65th minute of their 1-0 loss Saturday to Tottenham at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

His last score came on Jan. 20 in Arsenal's 4-1 win against Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium. Before that goal, Lacazette hadn't scored since a Dec. 2 strike against Manchester United. His Jan. 20 goal was nominated for the Premier League's Goal of the Month award for January.

Lacazette has had an odd pattern for playing time. He didn't even come off of the bench in Arsenal's 5-1 win against Everton on Feb. 3.

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"You do not have to understand too much [about not being able to play]," Gunners manager Arsene Wenger told reporters after the victory against Everton.

"What you want is that everybody focuses on winning the game. Do they start the game or not? In this game he didn't come on because we had a problem with the goalkeeper. You do not want the players to understand too much about why they don't play. They don't understand. I completely agree with them because they want to play. That's natural and normal."

The Gunners face Östersund at 1 p.m. Thursday at Jämtkraft Arena in Östersund, Sweden.

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