LONDON -- Arsene Wenger is seeing a sharper Alexandre Lacazette in training these days, and says it's clear the France striker "was not himself" in the weeks before his knee surgery.
Lacazette returned to full training last week after six weeks out following a minor operation on his knee, and marked his comeback by scoring a penalty in Arsenal's 3-0 win over Stoke on Sunday after coming on as a substitute.
That was only his second goal since Dec. 2 as he had struggled for form before his operation and then lost his starting place to January signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. But Wenger says the striker, who was Arsenal's club-record signing when he joined from Lyon last summer, is now ready to show his best side again.
"I realise now when I see him in training that he was not himself for a while, that explains why his goals dried up," Wenger said ahead of Thursday's Europa League game against CSKA Moscow.
"He always was adamant that he was OK, but players are like that. He was a good player before, but I think in the last seven or eight games he played he was not completely free with his knee. Unfortunately in our job you need your body. That's why when you are not 100 percent you can't play well."
Lacazette could make his first start since Jan. 30 against CSKA. And his return gives a massive boost to Arsenal's hopes of winning the competition, which is now the main focus of their season.
With Aubameyang cup-tied in the Europa League, Danny Welbeck filled in for Lacazette up front in the previous round against AC Milan and scored twice in the second leg. But Wenger acknowledged that the Frenchman will add a different dimension to his attack.
"It's good to have him back because it gives us different opportunities. Danny is more a guy who goes behind and Lacazette is more about combination play," Wenger said. "So to have both options is important."
Wenger is also hoping fans will return to the Emirates for Thursday's game after thousands of seats were left empty during recent Premier League matches. Against Stoke, about a third of the stadium wasn't filled.
The Arsenal boss said he was confident that supporters will turn out for such an important game, and downplayed the recent habit of fans to skip league matches.
"I think you make more of it than it is," Wenger said. "Let's not go overboard. ... Our fans are disappointed that we are not strong in the Premier League, that's what happened.
"There are other reasons. It was not the most prestigious opponent [Stoke], it was Easter, there were other stadiums that it was not full. The target for us is not to count the fans in the stands, the target for us to focus on our performance and win the games and accept the public judgment.
That's part of it. We have to do our job and not get concerned about that. Our job is to perform on the football pitch, to play well and all the rest to deal with it. It's as simple as that."