Arsenal legend Robert Pires says Alexandre Lacazette will need to adjust to Premier League football.

Like fellow Frenchman Lacazette, who manager Arsene Wenger recently signed from Lyon, Pires spent his entire playing career in France before ­joining Arsenal.

Pires said: “I do think ­Lacazette will be a success. He is a good striker who has scored a lot of goals with Lyon. Of course it will be difficult in the ­beginning because when you play in France and move to ­England it is not the same, it is very aggressive.

“Maybe he will need time to adapt, but everyone around him is ­important, especially the French connection.

“I remember my first game at Sunderland.

"Arsene said, 'Robert, I know you are a bit upset because you want to play, but I ­prefer it if you are on the bench and you can watch the game, the fight and the tempo'. After 20 minutes sat on the bench I said to ­myself, 'What are you doing here?!' because it was very, very difficult.

“I remember one tackle from Patrick Vieira and I thought this football wasn't for me. It was difficult and it is about how you adapt. Some people say that it is the same everywhere. It certainly is not.

“If you play in France, Spain or Italy, it is not the same football — especially when you play in England. Every game is very difficult.

“To make the adaption, to find the rhythm and the tempo, for me it took six or seven months. It was very tough. For me it was the aggression and ­intensity. Because I came from France, it was heavy and that is why it is difficult in the Premier League."