I saw this question on Twitter the other day and thought I would get the opinion from readers on here.
If you had a direct choice, what would you prefer to do? Let Lacazette leave as a free agent (at which point you have to spend money for a replacement) or extend Laca’s contract but cash in on Aubameyang?
You sense it’s because of cost cutting why Laca isn’t being offered a new deal and not based on his ability. Yet financially it would make more sense to get a fee for Auba.
The irony being that it’s his best friend Auba who is the reason his employers are content for him to run down his deal (something we were promised would never happen again after the Aaron Ramsey saga).
Arsenal are reluctant to carry on paying over the odds for talent over the age of 30, having had their hands burnt on the likes of Ozil.
Whether they regret the terms they gave to their captain is debatable.
It’s easy with hindsight to judge giving a huge salary to someone with zero re-sale value.
Essentially you trap yourself, because you can’t sell the player due to very few clubs willing to match that kind of wage.
However, it would have been a PR disaster had we allowed yet again our best player to join a rival.
In the same manner, most gooners were content when we paid over the odds for Ozil to remain in North London.
Purely a business decision, you would keep Laca and cash in on Auba, meaning you reduce your wage bill while bringing in millions to put towards a younger striker.
Laca’s exit only reduces the wage bill.
You then have to find the cash to purchase a new centre forward, because I’m sure you can’t purely rely on our skipper for firepower.
Where once you would say the first option simply based on Auba being the better player, I’m not sure you can say that anymore.
He’s the better finisher without question, but Arsenal make so few chances per game we need more than that from a lone striker.
He can be quiet for most of a game but suddenly convert an opportunity. Which Is a great quality to have but not in a conservative system.
Arteta’s ethos needs your striker to defend from the front, to press at all times, to come deep and link up with the midfield.
In other words, everything Laca does.
Laca isn’t as prolific, but you would never question his work rate.
Even last weekend you sense that it was reputation that meant Laca was subbed off and not his buddy.
It looked like Auba had improved his work rate when Arteta first arrived but, if we are honest, since his contract extension how many great games as our captain had?
Tell me what you would do in the comments?
Dan Smith
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If Lacazette would like a one-year contract extension, I believed Arsenal would’ve extended his contract already
Aubameyang is a great goalscorer, unfortunately his playing style is more suited to a counter-attacking system. Many fans thought he could be much better than Giroud due to his pace and height, yet he doesn’t possess Giroud’s strengths
There are too many players slack off or become highly predictable/ one-dimensional after signing their big contract extensions, namely Walcott, Ozil, Aubameyang and Tierney. So we’d better gamble on a new CF, despite the risk of getting someone who’s worse than Lacazette
Why on earth have you included Tierney with the three others when you know he gives 100% for his team whenever he plays.The man would run through a brick wall for Arsenal and Scotland and has nothing whatsoever in common with the trio you mention.As for Lacca and Auba, they are no longer capable of producing the goods against top quality opposition, and, as such I would endeavour to sell both.Easier said than done I know, but that’s how I feel.Time to give Martinelli, Pepe and Balogun a chance to show that they can be more effective than their aging, overpaid teammates..The old addage which Arteta needs to consider in the case of Martinelli and Balogun, is ” better to have tried and failed, than never to have tried at all”.
Sell Auba, Thank Laca for his service at the end of the season and move on.
Tierney has become highly predictable in attacking after signing the big contract extension. What he’s been showing lately aren’t as good as his old performance prior to the contract extension, so he has to train harder
I don’t think Balogun/ Martinelli can be as good as the more experienced and the more proven Donyell Malen, who has similar stature and might be more skillful than both of them. A small striker like him should either play in a mature/ highly stable system like Man City’s/ Liverpool’s or play on the left wing
This is why we’d better gamble on a new CF for our immature system
Article about striker position and concerns over lack of goal scoring. Why throw Tierney into it at all?
A better argument would have been how poor the midfield is at creating chances, assists, and scoring goals.
Midfield problems directly contribute to scoring issues, as well as Arteta’s tactics.
Still scratching my head about how you squeezed Tierney into the topic. Why not Tomi also at RB? He is also predictable in his play as well.
I would say making Auba drip so far back to defend wingers takes him out of counter attacking positions.
Laca plays more like a B2B because we still struggle in the buildup, and lack creativity in the midfield; both with and without Xhaka.
Read the headline. The article is also about extending Lacazette’s contract or not, hence I’d like to remind about Tierney’s previous performance before signing his big contract extension
I didn’t mention about Tomiyasu, because he just joined us and our LB is our main attacking outlet in Arteta’s system. If our attacking LB can only whip long crosses and hope for the CF or RW to receive it, we can’t penetrate defenses from the left wing
About the midfield as the main chance creator, I suggest you watch what Klopp said about creative midfielder/ no 10 vs good counter-pressing and watch how Liverpool/ Man City play
Is Klopp somehow different than other managers, extra special or something?
I would remind you of Santi Carzola in our midfield, and how the little magician bossed the midfield.
That is directly opposed to what Klopp is saying, yet we managed to qualify for CL repeatedly as well as win FA Cups.
Wenger won a lot of trophies with his 10’s and style of play. He must have known something.
I don’t think Wenger’s system or style failed, I believe it was the poor and mediocre players trying to implement it.
Trying to run a possession and attacking system needs thoroughbreds not the carthorses we had.
Klopp ended Liverpool’s 30+ year EPL title drought, won a UCL with them and won Bundesliga twice with Dortmund
Wenger’s old system has unfortunately been outdated and most top European serial winners predominantly play with no CAM or number 10 player nowadays
Yet Klopp failed to go undefeated and fell to lowely Watford. Don’t forget Chelsa won CL last year, Tuchel only needed 6 months to take them from midtable to CL Champs.
Tuchel I think has a better system than Klopp. We’ll see at the end of the season.
Also, let Klopp keep Liverpool in top 4 for 20 years, and amass a trophy case like Wenger, before you talk about failed systems.
Wenger changed how English football is played, Klopp didn’t change Bundesliga or PL.
Nothing wrong with praising Klopp, just seems a bit like you are dismissive of Wenger’s accomplishments and 22 years at Arsenal.
If I misjudged you on that aspect I apologize, but Klopp has a long way to go to equal Wenger’s accomplishments.
You have no idea.In case it has escaped your notice, Tierney is a left back ,who’s first priority is to defend.He does not have the skills to become an attacking midfielder or a winger, but he has assets which they do not possess.Tony Adams was never going to be another Dennis Bergkamp.As for your comments concerning Martinelli and Balogun, until they are given an opportunity , neither you nor anyone else can prejudge what they can achieve.I am not interested in comparisons with former players but only those who are currently on our payroll and are deemed by our Management team to have great potential.Until they are tested at the highest level over a reasonable period we will never find out if they have what it takes.
Our system is similar to Mancini’s and Guardiola’s, which usually start the attack from the left wing. This is why we need a creative LB
Imagine if we have Spinazzola or Cancelo as attacking LB. I suggest you watch how Spinazzola attacked in Euro and Cancelo’s creative assist in his last EPL game
You are consumed by your own interpretation of tactics used by professional Managers, who themselves do not analyse the game in your biopic manner .You seem to focus on incidents in matches which you seem to think we can replicate at the drop of a hat.Are you now suggesting we sell Tierney and secure a right footed left back on the one in a million chance of making a pass like Cancello?. You can carry on with your football fixation in the knowledge that I for one will no longer read your contributions.
Don’t sell Tierney now as he just extended his contract and he is still young, so he can still work harder to improve his performance
We don’t need to buy a right-footed LB if our current LBs can cut inside and use his weaker foot creatively. Similar to what Tavares did in some matches and what Tierney showed against West Brom in January, unfortunately Tierney can’t replicate that movement anymore
As I said in other articles, to each his or her own. After all, we’re just armchair experts
Gai, I think I agree with you. This days Centre forward are so unpredictable especially how they will adjust to EPL. Even after the return of C. Ronaldo he has discovered it’s not the EPL he left years ago, and same with Lukaku who after his eroics in Chelsea match against a not too strong Arsenal defense he’s already finding it tough in EPL. I would have preferred Auba to be sold while we keep Lacazette; provided he can accept a year deal. We can always get younger strikers in the mould of Auba and better..
Thanks bro. As I always say, we don’t need someone like Lukaku or Kane if our system is as stable and as mature as Liverpool’s or Man City’s
Unfortunately, ours is still shaky, so we need to find a better CF
gai, Tierney? TIERNEY??? I really wonder about you at times GAI!
THIS IS POSSIBLY THE MOST WRONGHEADED COMMENT I have seen on JA since God alone knows when!
When a regular such as you writes such a completely daft comment, it is bound to make other JA regulars look at him in a fresh and not positive light.
His performance is different after signing the big contract extension, Jon
Better to get Jovic on loan, buy Ascensio, Swap Nketiah/Pepe for Renato Sanchez
It would really help on the high pressing technique, if we cash in on Aubameyang and get Jovic on loan or we keep Lacazette, we get Renato, then the team looks this way,
Tomiyasu-Ben-Gabriel-Tavares
Renato-Maitland-Niles/Lokonga
Saka/Martinelli-Partey-Smith-Rowe
Lacazette/Jovic
Ramsey hasn’t done anything at Juventus let both Abu and Lacca go re invest in young blood.. Let’s see talent from our academy come through and add a little sparkle here and there to compliment our squad .. Its taking time what Arteta is trying to achieve.. let’s go with it … gooner for ever
Sell Auba won’t miss him
Arsenal should make the following decision in January and the summer.
January
OUT
Aubameyang
Nketiah
Balogun(loan out)
Elneny
Torrera
Kolasinac
Guendouzi
Holding
Bellerin
Reis Nelson
IN
Asensio
Raheem Sterling
Bissouma
Saliba
Squad should look like this
CF:Lacazette(offer him a 2 year extension) and Martinell
LF: Sterling, ESR
RF: SAKA, PEPE
AM: Asensio, Odegaard
CM: Xhaka, Lokonga, Partey
DM: Bissouma, AMN
LB: Tierney, Tavares
RB: Tomiyasu, Chambers
Central Defence: Gabriel, White, Saliba, Holding, Mari