Who is Arsenal's newest striker Alexandre Lacazette?
And the recent links with Lyon starman Alexandre Lacazette come as a much needed sigh of relief for the club which missed out on Champions League qualification for the first time since finishing at the same place (fifth) in the 1996-97 campaign. Alexis Sanchez, who did score 24 times in the Premier League last term, was deployed as a striker for a majority of the campaign, but Arsenal have lacked the presence of a proper number nine for sometime now. Giroud hasn’t crossed the twenty-goal mark since his tally of 21 goals in Ligue 1 guided Montpellier to an unprecedented title back in the 2011-12 season. He did score 16 times in the Premier League twice, but has never really appeased the fans on a long-term basis. And if the Gunners aspire to win the title next season, they need a proper number nine who can fetch them 25 or 30 goals in a single Premier League campaign.
If there’s anyone who can do just that, then it’s Alexandre Lacazette himself.
When the Frenchman drew links to the Emirates-based club as the season ended, it seemed like another case of the rumor mill going wild. But it’s now looking more and more substantial with every passing day. BBC and Sky Sports have reported that Lacazette is likely to don the famed red jersey soon, with the deal now close to completion.
The 26-year-old scored two more goals than his age during the recently concluded Ligue 1 campaign; 37 times in all competitions for the Lyon. The last three games he played for the club yielded as many as six goals and it was consistency in the goalscoring department that separated him from the rest. He did score seven goals less than the highest scorer- Paris Saint-Germain hitman Edinson Cavani, but it’s Lacazette’s completeness that makes him special.
Lacazette broke into the Lyon first-team setup back in the 2011-12 season and his stock has risen ever since he found the back of the net five times that term. He found global recognition when he scored 15 times in the 2013-14 season. Since then, he has crossed the 20-goal mark on a consistent basis, attracting attention from a host of powerhouse clubs; remarkably the Premier League top six at some point or the other.
He isn’t the typical fox in the box predator who stays around the goal to score from tap-ins. He’s much more than that. He often occupies deeper or wider positions around the forward-line, allowing the others to make in-roads inside the area and making the side look like a more fluid unit altogether.
Lacazette completed 2 dribbles every game in the Europa League, 1.6 in Ligue 1, which is a stat good enough to show how much he likes to take defenders on and beat them. He’s direct and is always looking to cut inside from the flanks to either score himself or help someone else in doing the same. His body frame, which isn’t as big as Giroud, allows him to weave his way past defenders and maintain a low sense of gravity on the ball when in possession. And due to that, his control of the ball and the way he moves with it makes it tough for defenders to take it off him. That’s the reason why he completed 70 percent of his take-ons this summer for Bruno Genesio’s men.
He may not be as aerially adept as Giroud, Van Persie or Bergkamp himself, but Lacazette’s movement and completeness makes up for that. His slightly diminutive frame allows him to always act as a pestering element around the box for defenders and even Sergio Aguero, who has been one of the Premier League’s best strikers in the last five or six years, is one of those who isn’t the most adept aerially but very deadly in front of goal. Lacazette has scored just eight headed goals ever since he broke onto the scene back in 2011, but that should be no cause of concern for Arsene Wenger.
With someone like Mesut Ozil behind him, Lacazette would be at the receiving end of a bunch of delightful passes that he would love to put away with aplomb. His movement off the ball and the former Real Madrid superstar’s ability to pick out passes in the final third could prove to be a deadly combination in the Premier League. Lacazette may take a bit of time in settling in and finding his feet in England, but he has that work-ethic and hard-working mentality to give his all on the pitch. And even when he isn’t scoring, he helps the team in one way or another.
With either one, or maybe even both of Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud likely to be heading out of the club this summer, Arsenal seem like an attractive proposition for Lacazette as well. Arsene Wenger likes to have French players in his side and Lacazette is one of those players who every top club will love to have in their ranks not just because of his goalscoring abilities, but also because of how he makes his side’s attack tick.
Kaustubh Pandey