LONDON -- Arsene Wenger hailed "an encouraging performance" from new signing Alexandre Lacazette in Sunday's 2-1 loss to Sevilla, but warned it could take a couple of months for the striker to fully settle in at the club.
Lacazette scored his first goal at the Emirates, popping up at the far post to convert a low cross from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in a game that lacked both intensity and fluency from the home side.
"Overall I think it was an encouraging performance," Wenger said about Lacazette. "He suffered a little bit from the fact that we were a bit flat, and not dominating enough to get the service. But he was one of the few who had a positive game today."
It was Lacazette's second goal of the preseason after also netting on his Gunners debut in Australia. Both have come from being at the right place at the right time, which Wenger said was the French forward's hallmark.
"That's him. To score goals is to be in the right place in the box when the cross comes in and he has that quality," Wenger said.
The goal came from one of the few chances Arsenal created against the Spanish side, and Wenger admitted that Lacazette still needs more time to get used to his new teammates before the attack really starts to click.
"Sometimes it takes a few months, sometimes it takes very little time. The only thing I must say with Lacazette is that week after week he looks to adapt quickly," Wenger said. "But overall I think it will take him one or two months."
Lacazette was taken off in the second half, but Wenger said there was no injury concern for the forward. However, Francis Coquelin -- who came off injured in Saturday's 5-2 win over Benfica -- is set to undergo a scan for an ankle problem, while Kieran Gibbs missed the weekend with an illness, Wenger said.
This was Arsenal's second loss in six preseason games, with only next weekend's Community Shield against Chelsea remaining before they open the Premier League campaign against Leicester. Arsenal will look to avoid a repeat of last year, when they lost to Liverpool in their home opener and drew 0-0 at Leicester in their second game to fall five points behind their main rivals at the start.
Wenger insisted that his team will be better prepared for the start of this season, but admitted that the extensive preseason travel that top teams undertake these days make things more difficult.
"We had a very good record [in season-openers] as long as we didn't travel. We always won our first games, and since we've travelled we've struggled a bit more.
"But we're on the same line there as any other team. Everybody travels, and when you look at the international games in Asia or in the [United] States, it's the big teams that play against each other, because only the smaller clubs have the luxury to prepare at home. Everybody else travels," Wenger said.
Arsenal used to have annual preseason training camps in Austria before joining in the current trend of visiting bigger markets to grow their fan base overseas. Asked why he doesn't refuse to go on such tours if it negatively impacts the team's results, Wenger said: "Because I'm sensible. And because I respect that we sign big contracts with the sponsors, and I think it's normal that we adapt.
"This shouldn't be looked at as an excuse for any bad result. ... We have no disadvantage because Liverpool, Chelsea, Man United, everybody does it. So we're on even ground with everybody."