Mikel Arteta has been starting Eddie Nketiah ahead of Alexandre Lacazette for Arsenal’s league games for some time now.
The Spaniard seems to prefer the young Englishman leading his attack over the former Lyon man.
However, he gave Lacazette the chance to take back his shirt when Arsenal faced Sheffield United in their FA Cup quarterfinal match.
I was excited to see Lacazette leading the line again, and I hoped that he would prove to Arteta why he is a better striker.
The Frenchman didn’t do that, I’m afraid. With Nketiah and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the bench, Lacazette struggled to trouble the United defence.
He had some nice turns and touches, and he also earned the penalty that gave Arsenal the first goal. However, overall he didn’t do much to threaten the Blades.
One thing that impresses me about Nketiah’s game is his relentless pressing that makes defenders and goalkeepers make mistakes. That was missing today until the youngster replaced Lacazette in the attack.
Lacazette will look back on this game as a chance missed and I think I can understand why Arteta would rather start an inexperienced Nketiah better now.
Lacazette is still a fine striker, but he might have lost the number nine role at Arsenal for now until he can start getting useful in an Arteta system.
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While Nketiah has age on his side, I don’t think he has shown enough to warrant starting for Arsenal. A few tap ins here and there is not quite good enough. As for Laca, he is quite simply not fit for purpose. He should be sold. This is a guy who cost 50M or thereabout, is on a hefty salary and is consistently crap. Yet he seems to get off lightly. Nketiah should go on a loan where he can play every week so that he can hone in his skills.
Harsh on Lacazette, his confidence is obviously down.
I think there is a reason for the way Arteta uses those two. They will probably sub each other in some games. It’s the coaches strategy and I wouldn’t read into it.
Laca isn’t a creater, he’s a poacher with good close control. He doesn’t have anyone good enough to supoly him right now.
I totally agree. Also, check the 1-2 between him and Auba and u will be sure that he needs someone to pass him the ball or create chance for him.
In this manner, I think Laca is doing better than Nkeitah, anyway we should be happy that we have more than average strikers in our team but we lack a real playmaker which can supply them with good real chances.
The 3 of them are Finishers!
I agree, I only see this as a good thing. more competition on the side benefits everyone. Laca went through a bad patch jus before lockdown but was getting back in track with a couple of goals. Lacazette’s game requires him to be fully fit and I’m not sure he is.
For me Lacazette has never been worth the money we paid for him. Giroud was a better all-round CF and we let him go for peanuts. Guess who can’t get into the France side?
This is funny that you would think Giroud is better than Lacazette. No doubt Lacazette has had a dip in form since his injury this season. But make no mistake the fact that Giroud made it to the France national team and Lacazette didn’t doesn’t make him better. It’s just deschamps preference to go with Giroud. Would you say Giroud is also better than Martial? Maybe you need to see lacazette’s goals from when he joined us prior to this season and tell me if Giroud can score those types of goals. Many arsenal fans forget things way too easily.
Giroud is better despite how frustrating of a player he tended to be. Far better chemistry with the players around him, nad knew how to bring them into the play. Lacazette just backs up against defenders and draws fouls if he’s lucky. He cannot head the ball, misses just as much as early Arsenal Giroud missed. He’s not lived up to his price-tag.
Vs Southampton, the pass from Pepe to Eddy, that would be goal with laca
I have a strange feeling that he is engineering his move to get ahead of Auba in the queue to be sold.
On current form and in the current system Nketia is way ahead, that doesn’t mean lacca should be sold, I’ll keep him too, am just happy for Nketia and arsenal FC as I fell Nketia and Saka are going to be our core spine that the team is built on,
Nketia is our own ‘Rashford ‘ hopefully he stay fit and continue his impressive form. I can see Auba is helping him to grow, that’s what ‘big brother ‘ do for young upcoming talents, I respect him.
Against soton Auba had a chance and could have went for the goal but decided to pass it to Nketia, only to be intercepted by the defender, I hope we loose none of our attackers this summer, only defence and especially mf needs surgery,
How true is our bid for levante Bardhi?
OT.. Balogun is set to leave this summer??!! Wth!!!!
The team is rotten from top to bottom!
Surely we’ll add a buy back clause?!!
Can’t handle seeing another Gnabry (watch and weep!!)
I think nketiahs strength is his workrate and i think he will build his career on that,he will be a great player.But when you look at laca apart from the experience he has,he is also very good in his link ups and hold ups.Nketiah force errors so laca is creative than nketiah.Both are struggling with their end products…so its pretty hard to compare who should play.
Since the restart we have not scored a creative goal and our play is mainly focused on the flanks.We also have to attack from the middle(just saying)so i think laca should start over nketiah.I want us to be ‘the arsenal’
The Leeds manager … one of the best in the business … was quick to work our nketiahs limitations … doesn’t have sufficient close control or finishing instincts to be a top striker … lacazette a better play but not sure he is what we need up front either … it’s a shapeless team at the moment … but big concerns are in middle and at back … if we don’t find quality there it’s only going to get worse
I wonder why those hailing and clamouring for Nketia ahead of Laca can’t see this. Had Martinelli been given the amount if play time Nketia has under Arteta he would have a better goal/assist return.
Look at all the goals Nketia has scored, Martinelli or Auba has scored similar. Is Nketia a better hard worker than Laca and Martinelli? – I don’t think so. Does he hold up the ball more thank those two? – I don’t think so. Does he have more ball sense/finishing ability? – I don’t think so. So why is he playing ahead of both? There’s a reason he didn’t get into Leeds srarting 11 and they didn’t fight to keep him till the end of the season.
It is about Laca and Nketiah not Martinelli and Auba. Laca has no idea where the goal is away from home, Nketiah does.