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