Charlie Nicholas has claimed that Arsenal boss Unai Emery "does not trust his players enough" following their defeat to Liverpool last weekend.
The Gunners suffered their first defeat of the Premier League season at Anfield on Saturday, with Mohamed Salah scoring twice after a Joel Matip header in a 3-1 defeat to Jurgen Klopp's side.
Writing in a Sky Sports News column ahead of Arsenal's tie with North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, Nicholas urged Emery to use Alexandre Lacazette from the start, with the Frenchman making a telling impact after coming off the bench last weekend.
"Emery does not trust his players enough," the pundit said. "He always tends to leave Lacazette out and go with pace. Joe Willock did okay, but didn't get on the ball much. You need to go into these games with the best attackers.
"I would always play Lacazette through the middle, [Nicolas] Pepe on the right and [Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the left.
"Tottenham are nervous at the moment and mistakes always come from these matches. [Dani] Ceballos needs to be closer to the front three too."
Arsenal defeated Spurs 4-2 at the Emirates last season, with Aubameyang, Lacazette and Lucas Torreira scoring for the hosts.
Jonny Whitfield
