Arsenal defender Sokratis has played down any fears over how the team will fare in the absence of Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang by highlighting the quality which another teammate boasts. 

The Gunners have already been troubled by injuries to important players this season as a number of regular first team stars missed last Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace.

To make matters worse for Mikel Arteta, his key striker Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang was sent off in the second half of the game as he gets ready to spend the next three matches on the sidelines.

Due to the fact that Aubameyang is Arsenal’s top scorer this term, it is reasonable for some to worry about how the team will find goals while he is suspended.

However, Sokratis has suggested that Alexandre Lacazette, the only remaining centre-forward in the squad, has the ability to score the goals needed.

The Frenchman has been lauded as a ‘very good player’ and a ‘goal machine’ by his teammate, who believes there is more to come from Arteta’s side even in Aubameyang’s absence.

Lacazette has failed to score in his last five games for the Gunners but Sokratis is confident the striker will make this opportunity count.

“He’s a machine, a goal machine,” Sokratis told the club’s official website

“He’s a very good player. In some games, from the outside, you can’t see what he can do. Or maybe he is a little bit struggling. But we have see also how is the game and which guy he has behind him.

“I think he is a very good player, we are with him every time, he is with us and we will show all together in the future a lot of things.

“I think Laca is coming better and better. He’s very important, a massively important player for us. Altogether we have to improve, to step up and to show that the year is not finished and that we have to fight for this.”

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