‘They thought I was finished. Oops, I am not’. That has been the story of ex-Arsenal striker Alexander Lacazette this season.
The biggest problem for Arsenal in the 2022–23 season was their lack of a reliable goal source. Arteta had options for his strike force, one of them being Alexander Lacazette, but there was nothing incredible about what his options were doing. After Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s departure in January 2022, Lacazette was left as the main man to lead Arsenal’s attack, but when called upon to do so in games, he just didn’t take his chances.
It was Nketiah, his backup, who did. Notably, instead of playing himself into a new deal, Lacazettw lack of impact in Arsenal’s attack saw Arsenal willingly allow him to leave on a free transfer.
Arsenal fans didn’t regret his departure, but Lacazette hints they should. While having a brilliant season at Lyon (he is one of the top scorers there with 20 league goals – Balogun has 18 at the moment), where he re-joined last summer as a free agent, Lyon seems to have targeted Arsenal fans in his latest chat with the media. The 31-year-old has called out Arsenal fans who doubted he still had it in him to lead the line, saying on Telefoot, “Because many people thought I was finished and were saying that I wouldn’t succeed, that the club was making a mistake. I wanted to show that Lyon was right in calling on me.”
What can I say about Lacazette’s claims? Well, he is not finished, and it is nice that he is shining. Anyway, I doubt any Gooner misses him; the direction Arteta’s attack needed to take needed someone else, and holding on to Lacazette was just holding on to the past.
Arsenal should be proud that Alex was a loyal and worthy member of our team, and we should be very happy for him that he has gone on to resurrect his career at his old club, Lyon….
Sam P
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