Mikel Arteta hailed Alexander Lacazette’s contribution in the past few months telling the reporters that he provides the team with “something different.”
The Frenchman has been one of the few consistent performers at the Emirates Stadium this season. The Arsenal striker also has the most goal involvements (16) in the club.
Speaking ahead of the match against Liverpool, Mikel Arteta said, ”I think he’s been really good. I think he’s been in really good form for months now. I think he’s sustaining that level. He’s scoring goals and he’s providing the team with something different as well.
“His work rate has been phenomenal and it’s what we want. We need those types of players hitting the best level and we want to have the chance to do that.
“Over the course of the season, we have been missing goals, we’ve been missing that creativity in the final third and we need those players to step in and make that difference for the team.”
The former Lyon man has been an instant hit at the Emirates since his switch in 2017. In his 161 appearances for the Gunners, the 29-year-old has 61 goals and 28 assists.
Lacazette’s situation will be dealt in the summer claims Arteta
With those numbers, it is difficult to keep attention from other clubs at bay. “I am always happy when people talk about our players and speculate on that,” Arteta continued, “It means they are doing well and getting attention from other clubs. The situation with Laca will get addressed in the summer. I will speak to him and just propose a future that we want and that’s it. Now I just want players focused and only focused on performing and getting the best out of them for the team.”
The striker who has 16 appearances for the French team, will only have a year left on his current deal, which he signed in 2017. When asked whether giving his star striker a new deal would make financial sense, the Arsenal manager said, “Everything is related. At the end of the day, everything is related to where we are, how much we win and where we are playing next season.
“There are no exceptions, and we all need to be clear with that and the context that we have around our industry.”
Roma, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid are the names that have been linked with the Arsenal striker recently. While, Roma and Sevilla are more heavily linked, Diego Simeone is also thought to be a huge fan of Lacazette.
It is yet to be seen whether that speculation gathers any serious pace in the summer. A replacement of that caliber would definitely demand a huge fee.
Arsenal fans would be hoping that the situation is dealt with internally. If the club thinks otherwise, they must then be lining up a swoop for a promising forward in the summer transfer window.
Yash Bisht
Yes, but better wait until we win EL. If we win it, Lacazette and Luiz deserve one year extension
If we don’t, better try new players. I saw a France U-23 match and Odsonne Edouard looked great in tight spaces like Lacazette
Edouard is taller as well, but I’m not sure about his work rate. Lacazette’s only problems are his height, speed and age, but he’s very combative and a very good actor too
“And a very good actor”
Did he have a previous career in Hollywood we’re unaware of?
His great acting when getting touched by the opposition’s CBs has given us plenty of free-kicks
My Arteta line up prediction
Lacazette.
Aubameyang. Odegaard. Pepe.
Xhaka. Partey.
Tierney. Gabriel. Luiz. Bellerin.
Leno
Sorry to disagree but I don’t regard a striker who has averaged 3 goals in 8 games during his time with us as an “instant hit”. Not at the level we should be aiming for. I don’t say he is a failure but neither is he a success. I prefer a more accurate dsecription, such as an OK or average player. Realism!
jon, unfortunately when Lacazette came to Arsenal, Wenger didn’t play him and when in form scoring goals he has been benched under all Arsenal head coach/managers for some inexplicable reason.
I agree his work rate is phenomenal and his form is consistent, but I’m sure we can make better use of 185pw salary. Besides, if we choose to re-sign him now, we will forego at least 25M (my estimate of his trade value today) and lose him as a free-agent next year.
He is average at best, and Arsenal should not waste money giving him another contract unless he takes a significant pay cut. We need to rejuvenate the squad, not continue to sign or extend over the hill players.
I will be happy if he stayed not sure about what will happen at arsenal in the summer.I think this would mostly depend on european qualification and if MA managed to stay even without europe his system could use a player like laca.Laca is good in any system.
If he is to go Atletico madrid(although direct rivals of RM)will be a superb place for him.Laca excels in counter attacking and i think he could be the missing piece for ATM to find some glory…..
👍 Simeone has faith in him.
Bang average
Bye lacca
Love the guy bit I wanna win stuff and he just isn’t the man to do it
Kudos to your brief yet concise assessment SBG
If Lacazette is “bang average” then that label is applicable to at least 80% of the Arsenal first eleven.
A major rebuild required, but given financial constraints of “self funding” model, there is no scouting network seeking out cost effective prospects to do it. The Academy may have some longer term solutions, who should be given opportunities.
OG…I think sometimes bang average can be used as a relative term…of course, if compared to all currently employed footballers, Laca isn’t bang average, but when compared to those who have received the same or similar remuneration, including the sizeable transfer fee, what he has achieved could be considered “bang average”…in my estimation he became a depreciating asset from the moment he arrived, as he never seemed to occupy the same importance at our club that he did in Lyon and it seemed obvious that, after his first season here, we would never break even on our investment
Patson Daka is better than Lacazette,Daka is a Gem release Lacazette period🤔
When one looks at the contribution of Lacs and Aub this season, the player who should be questioned is the man on a reported £300,000 a week plus.
His body language, couldn’t care less attitude and grotesque salary, plus his lack of goals, chances created and general ineptitude versus Lacs should make MA think very hard about not offering him a new contract.
In my opinion, Lacs is a better all round performer and we would be silly to let him leave, when Auba is struggling to make an impression of any kind this season.
You make a good point Ken1945; however, I’m not sure if there any takers for Auba, considering his age and grotesque salary. Laca is definitely the easier sell….and we need the money to re-build.
Good points you make RFrancis, we have let ourselves be stitched up again by offering a ridiculous contract.
It seems that once again, we need to sell our better players, what a mess.
exactly
unfortunately most fans juz follow the media and their fifa21 managment skills
As usual spot on Ken. I sometimes wonder at some of our fans! You want to let a tested player like Lacazette go and then gamble on an untested player. This is sheer lunacy! It is very akin to how we lost Giroud to Chelsea only for him to return and torment us in Europa finals or how Adebayor ran half the pitch after scoring against us! These two were victims of hate by some of our stupid fans! We need to have the courage to stand up against irrational behaviour. Love and hate for a particular player should be based on his performance and not individual sentiments. All players cannot have a uniform playing style. Such a team would be highly predictable and very easy to beat by a serious opponent. Thus the need for varying skills need not be overemphasised. We should not try to make robots or clones of our players! We need all these variations to have a strong team. Yes we need free flowing football but we also need hard tacklers or those who will hold the ball and allow others to get into strategic positions. Giroud was such a player and so is Lacca. Even when they don’t score themselves they let other teammates do it. Football is a team sport and not an individual one. We, therefore, need to harness all our varying skills and not discourage positive unique traits in some individuals.
Good riddance to Giroud. He was more often a clumsy oaf who failed to fit into the smooth interplay between Sanchez, Carzola and Ozil. Lacazette and Aubamayang were brought in as
more sophisticated upgradess to the big lumberjack. They probably would have done much better as well if Arsenal had invested better in the midfield positions.
the fans only wants big tag and big name players
if the big tag and big name player flops, another one should be signed and the cycle goes on
too much Fifa21 fans these days…..
David, Giroud proved, at best, he was a second string striker. He was never a prolific goal scorer and never will be. He played in every World Cup game for France at the 2018 finals and never scored, which pretty much summed him up. Yes, he scored in Bako. But so did Iwobi and Hazard and guess what ? They are both no longer where they were.
I can only give my own opinion of course, but Giroud has never been considered at Chelsea as anything other than a backup and impact player
Exactly right, ken; it is obvious who has put his head up this season to warrant sale and who has “put his head down”.
Hasn’t really proven himself as a consistent goal scorer, has he? The rumours of Augero joining would mean that Arsenal would be a Dad’s Army type of team. Either one of Auba or Laca should move on. Auguero is also a stop gap. Can you imagine a lineup that includes, Auguero, William, Aubamayang, Lacazette and David Luiz, supplemented by young whipper snappers like Xhaka, Elneny and Partey? I don’t even want to go near it.
i dont think we are signing aquero
media loves to create news and fans love to follow such news
and the stirring continues
I have always rated Laca over Auba. But if we can get a better scoring striker then I wouldn’t mind releasing Laca. He has been so inconsistent for all the time he has been here. Hardly scores.
And I bet he wants an improved contract from his current one. I don’t think he has earned a new improved contract whatsoever.
And is it now a coincidence that we see such effort once time to renew a given players contract?
Ozil did it for a few month in 2017.
Auba did it last year.
Laca seems to be doing the same this year.
I might be reading too much into the whole conspiracy. 😂
Lacazette has, if nothing else, been consistent when selected at Arsenal. Goonster, I therefore consider your comment unfair in his case.
It makes no sense keeping him, regardless of his form. After the extension, there’ll be almost no sell-on value and the club will scrap to find a replacement for him.
It was never a better time to move him on. He can be sold for 30 million, which is enough money to reinvest in a younger player with greater promise and sell-on value.
But I’d agree with gotanidea. In the case of Arsenal winning the EL, I’d extend him for another season.
I think “deserve” doesn’t play a high priority for the club.
What is important is “can we find a better player for the same money”? And “can we afford to pay his salary given our cash flow profile”
If Laca renews his contract he will likely again demand a 6 figure salary and in my opinion that might be too high for our waning financial strength.
Perhaps selling him and investing the funds in younger players with lower salaries and good potential is more prudent.
I think we have seen Laca’s ceiling on the pitch and he is not like Aubamayang last season or RVP, players who single-handedly can deliver results.
In fact, I would off-load Aubamayang as well if he doesn’t rediscover last season’s form in the remainder of the season. We can not pay a player like that 300+ for what we get.
Sound argument; short and long term “bang for the pound.”
I don’t think any professional player can deliberately plan to play poorly because they know it affects their professional record and reputation. In the case of Lacca he has always put in effort only that sometimes he is not lucky with goals. It happens with nearly all players. It should not be construed as a conspiracy to get a new contract. Perhaps a coincidence! I understand Ozil is not doing any better at his new club. The simple fact is that he is past his best and the normal trend once one reaches that stage is to decline. It is natural and there is nothing much any one can do about it.
please no!
You people tend to forget how many chances Lacazette missed and these could have got us more points.
I think Arteta is well aware of that and Lacazette will be sold this summer and that won’t be a bad thing
Keeping him and Auba is a difficult decision but we do not hsve a direct replacement since Eddie and Balogun are likely to exit.
Gabbi has not been given the opportunity with MA
Sell, get money for him now, buy another player with potential, or play him and get nothing for him next year or the year after…
@Aaron, if Arteta would come out and say now that Lacazette will be offloaded, and he will be putting his trust in both Martinelli and Balogun next season, I would support this decision 100%.
Nketiah? Just get him off the books for whatever price we can and show faith in these two very very promising young players. Bet it will never happen