Alexandre Lacazette Was Never a Bum by AI
Alexandre Lacazette is always swimming upstream. In the summer of 2017, Arsene Wenger decided to bring him from Lyon to Arsenal for a big sum. He scored 8 goals in the Premier League by January and Arsene Wenger decided to bring in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who went on to score 13 goals in four months.
Lacazette has many critics. He never seems able to grab a game by the scruff of the neck like Aubameyang. His stamina is not too great. He drops into the midfield and is not better than Olivier Giroud at building play. At most, he scores 15 goals in a Premier League season. His off-the-ball movement can be suspect and always tries to duel defenders. He is light-years from a player like Harry Kane who can play his role coming deeper and is wonderful at it. Add the fact that the Frenchman has no outstanding athletic abilities and you’ll see why he can be such a soft target for critics.
But Alexandre Lacazette is not a bum. For what it is worth, he is a great shooter/finisher. He often works his socks off and when your team has midfielders who can come up to combine with him, his work in the midfield can look very good. At the very least, he tries, and is a team player. The potential for improvement with a good coach is always there. He might never be one of the top scorers due to how he plays but if you’ve got goals elsewhere in your team it won’t be a problem. He can comfortably lead the line for a midtable team and would be highly rated if he were not at a club with Champions League aspirations.
Arsenal should still try to move him on in the summer but Lacazette’s legacy will not be that of a bum because he never was. He is just a player right on the cusp of making the leap to being great but doesn’t. You might call his career at Arsenal very average but that’s more an indictment of the team around him than his own qualities.
Agboola Israel
Maybe the kids could make him sharp again, since he’s gotten great understanding with them. Now it’s Aubameyang’s turn to regain his form
I always rated his work rate and over the last few games he looks like a regenerated player. I am happy with the effect that the younger player have had on him and the rest of the team, even xhaka is passing the ball forward. Great result last night on what could have been a banana skin. Onward and upward!
He quickly made a through pass to Smith-Rowe, after receiving the ball from Saka. I think Lacazette has been practicing the team move with the kids
Great peice of article, that’s exactly how I see Laca
This article is ill time, why would you write a negative article at this moment, maybe your intention is to dampen is confidence. This is not the time for this kind of article, what a shame as a fan of this great club.
Why is this negative . We all want team players, no?
Pointing out his flaws at a time when he has been doing great for us.
I think it is a very negative, factually incorrect article and uncalled for. Lacca has no stamina? B🤣🎵🤣cks.
👍 Reggie and Lacazette has had to drop deep into midfield to collect the ball, because of the previous poor performers in Arsenal’s midfield. People have short memories, because every time Lacazette has been in scoring form, he is dropped. As for not being a “game changer”, without Lacazette’s goal against Brighton the game would have been a draw.
Agree Ozzie
Great article again Agboola.
Laca has always played his heart out for Arsenal. In terms of goals he has always been a “streak” scorer, but in terms of effort he is 100%, unlike Auba.
Whilst I am probably in the minority, if I had to choose who to keep between the two, I would choose Laca for his spirit and commitment to Arsenal every time he pulls on that shirt. He is by no means a hugely gifted footballer, but he plays with the heart of a kid playing for his home town clu, and for me there can be no higher praise needed.
He is a top player putting it all for team &/win….A star that makes us shine and such a mentor to young players for that, works hard for team meaning club and us fans, always, no matter if he can be mistreated, as soon he is on pitch, he is like a kid in a toy store, nuts! Great player for team.
I have been saying that for weeks the man is a work horse and I see Guendouzi scored again yesterday We need him back here
Yes agreed Matteo needs to come back In to the fold In the summer again as he is better than Cabellos (who will return to madrid), Eleney (on his way to turkey again apparently) & Willock who just isnt ready.
He has the heart, desire and fire we need in the middle. Him and Partey could be a sensatuonal duo with their intense & physical game along with some magic in their games which they have and Guendouzi is only 20.
We have alot of youngsters including Matteo in SmithRowe, Saka, Martinelli, Bolugun & Nelson who will all work their socks off and Laca plays off each of them. Laca playing for a new deal, give him a 3year deal and see what have happens.
Auba could be the one sold if he doesnt start playing and looking not interested at all.
Gouendouzi and Partey would be a cracking midfield.
👍
Where was Lacazette when aubamayang was carrying us last season and even the season before, aubamayang.We are winning games now, the most important thing to me is that we are winning games and the players seem to be trusting each other again, the players are giving me joy now and I will not let a negative article like this ruin the happiness they are giving me.
OT: This is the last time I will comment on this auba _lacazette topic.
Lacazette was often on the bench. Both players are different in style, with different strengths and weaknesses. Supporting one, should not be at the detriment of the other.
I think laca is a star, and we should try to extend his contract before we were in danger to lose him for free, like we are having used in the last time with our big name players
I’m afraid I do not recognise the Lacazette you describe.On the contrary, Lacazette is a very fine all round footballer who has considerable stamina, skill and determination , who is quick over 10 yards and has great football intelligence.He is in my opinion a better centre forward than Auba who simply does not have the control to link with others.The introduction of ESR and Martinelli, combined with the rapid development of Saka has revitalised Laca whose work off the ball is creating space for the youngsters.Long may this continue.
Grandad, a perfect summing up of Lacazette in the last three games especially.
It is no surprise that we are now seeing such a change all round the pitch, simply because we have now introduced a player, in ESR, who is supplying chances and creating moves going forward, not sideways and backwards.
Long may it continue.
I think I’m more aligned with your thinking here. I don’t know what went wrong with Laca’s finishing but it’s *only* his poor finishing since leaving Lyon that’s prevented him being seen as a world class player. Aside from that he doesn’t have any other significant weakness (except not being tall enough, despite being decent in the air – what can you do about that?)
Definitely more of a captain than Auba in my view. He’s basically been massively off form in front of goal for several years – you do see the frustration occasionally but by enlarge he’s putting in 100% and doing the best he can for the team.
I see Laca like Bacary Sagna: Warrior.
Davi, Lacazette has often been in and out of the team and hasn’t had a consistent run under any manager from Wenger on.
He is an integral player for the gooners, we are lucky to have him. I have stated many times, I prefer him to Auba.
👍Spot on Grandad
Kstix, I have read your reply regarding MO and answered it – a good discussion of different thoughts – I would like to read your response if you have the time… Thanks.
Smith Rowe and Martinelli have brought a lot of positivity into the squad. We are 3 points behind Chelsea. lol. This season is just so unpredictable. If we win 5 consecutive games, we will be closer to the top. Liverpool played a 1:1 draw at home with westbrom. Smith Rowe, Saka, Tierney, Laca and Martinelli deserve a lot of credit. Interesting season.
Anyone who would take Laca over Auba clearly lacks the perspective that is required for making decisions in the best interests of our club…any simpleton can adopt a “what have you done for me lately” stance because they know others of their ilk will be quick to come to their defence, regardless of how ridiculous it might be…since his arrival, Laca has underwhelmed and underperformed…the Laca of Lyon has rarely made an appearance in an Arsenal shirt…the Laca we’ve overpaid for is the same Laca who the French National team has rightfully considered as an afterthought for some time now…to me he’s simply a second striker, who lacks the speed or height to lead the line…I was pumped when we first made advances, but when I started to watch him play more in the season prior to our second advance, I quickly realized he was at his best when he played off another striker, by coming into the box late and finding little pockets of space…unfortunately he’s one of the many players we mistakenly bought who are best served by specific tactics we don’t employ, which once again reflects poorly on our disjointed and ineffective recruitment policies
As I have always said. I rate Laca above Auba when it comes to real natural talent. Laca has a much better all round game as compared to Auba. He works very hard in and out of possession.
But I had given up on him this season as I have been waiting for him to start scoring goals on a consistent basis for years now.
He is doing it now and I am happy. I was start to label him as a wasted £50 million flop like some of his other big money teammates.
I hope he continues doing what he is doing at the moment
Well I have been called many things in my life, but never a “simpleton”.There is still room for Laca and Auba at Arsenal, but one is a natural C.F and Auba is far more effective playing from the left where there is more space.The days of playing two central strikers are long gone, because to do so will inevitably lead to losing control of the midfield.
actually my comment was directed at Guy, not you, but saying that I think your statement regarding the perceived obsolescence of playing with 2 strikers isn’t totally true…Allegri used it quite often, Celtic still employs it, PSG used it on numerous occasions , Inter deploys this tactic, among others…I think sometimes teams claim they’re using a particular formation then quickly deploy two strikers up top, like Inter…usually it requires a 3-5-2, with wingbacks, to maintain some sense of midfield control…other times it looks more like a diamond formation where the 2nd striker tends to tuck in behind the main striker at the point of the diamond…it’s definitely plausible and I think Laca and, in fact, Pepe would make more sense in that type of role, but it would require the manager to adopt the notion that a good offence is the best defence
U are right, laca is not a star as players can be, because he is a superstar, a rockstar, when he scores, he celebrates that way, pausing like a statue, legend!
Let’s all praise our beloved Prof fpr all he has done, bring such a player and teach him the Arsenal speed football making him progress & develop to a top and lethal gunner he is.
What an inspiration to bring such a character for our youngsters!
We want arsenal to move on laca…to be replaced by who and at what cost in this pandemic? Laca is building a chemistry around the young lads evidence from the second goal against the baggies. Arsenal should extend laca contract so that the young lads like Nketiah balogun can learn from him. Arsenal should sign that emi from norwich to rotate with rowe
Lacazette is playing out of his skin to earn a new contract no doubt Arsenal will fall for it and give him a nice big money contract then as soon as that happens he will just do the same as Ozil and Aubameyang in other words sod all!!
I think you might be trying to say he is reliable and and good part of the team. If my opinion is correct why is he not a star? If arsenal win people look for faults in individual players if arsenal loose most players need to be sold for better ones and arteta needs to be replaced. I think the team is doing well if they do lose I am not going to join the debate who was at fault it’s growing pains the team has been reconstructed a bit of time to adjust not one season that is not enough time.
most time, when u see auba scoring it’s laca who provide the assist so most times u see laca does not score goals.so to me laca is a star because he plays well in centre forward and create chances
Some strange comments above!
Daren, sorry your post is confusing. What exactly are you trying to say?
Vieira Lynn – you seem to be another poster who abuses anyone who doesnt agree with your opinion. I respect yours, although mine is different. Please do likewise with others.
Danny, are you saying that nobody playing well should get a new contract? Seems an odd point of view. And sorry, although he hasnt been pulling up trees on the scoring front until now, I cant agree that Laca has not contributed in other ways.
No one said he hasn’t contributed in any way whatsoever, but he wasn’t brought here to be an inconsistent secondary piece…at that time he was our highest priced transfer purchase and as such was hailed by the club as the missing piece to the rather shitty puzzle that was Arsenal at that time…he obviously hasn’t lived up to those expectations, whereas until we adopted some incredibly negative tactics Auba had been one of the most prolific goal producers, over a 18 month span, we’ve ever had…to me the math is pretty basic, thus I used the term that you took offence to…of course I didn’t mean to offend, but it seemed like an appropriate term considering
lol ok all forgotten. I don’t like using pricetags to decide whether a player has flopped or not – that can indicate good or bad practice by the club but its hardly the player’s fault. Agree he probably hasn’t become the world class player we all hoped and he can struggle terribly from goal droughts, but putting his cost aside he has been an integral part of the few good teams we have had recently, either as a second striker or deeper as midfield roustabout or link player.
Almost immediately after we signed him, we signed Auba and the team started being built towards creating chances for Auba. I don’t have to choose one over the other as they are both good, but for said 18 months , Laca has played to the game plan so unselfishly creating room for Auba to flourish. Their partnership has been so lethal over said 18 months, till Aubs started being “economical” to be polite with his movement, which sort of makes Laca look like he’s not doing anything. The simple addition of people moving and taking advantage of the space he creates once again has made him look again.
IF you rate auba before Laca you are what ? Quit football and watch tenis.
I think Lacas main strength is how well he reads the game.He knows when to make a pass and whom to link.
He may not be the perfect no.9 attacking the end balls from crosses but he will still make the runs.
And i have alaways said that he is an all rounder so is better than auba
Lacazette is becoming better with the younsters. His value might be on the rise again. Now I think he can be a good old head on our young shoulders, and link up with yhe three players behind him yo provide goals. He is becoming a good player now, and it seems different from his other spurts of form.
I agree with you %100 Izzy, thanks for the incisive look at the player who the truth be told, has often borne the brunt of the failures of a collective simply because of what is expected of him. Like you rightly said, he is more of a warrior than a bum.
Whoever wrote this article matches this criteria
1. Never heard of , or watched Lacazette before he joined arsenal
2. Probably a young football fan
3. Has poor memory
4. Watches the game to see what he wants to see , not to see what’s on the pitch.
Laca is the best striker we have . A striker’s role goes beyond putting the ball in the net , which I agree is an attribute he’s probably not our best at. The best finisher we have is Auba. But the best striker we have? That’s definetly Laca.
As many in the comments have said, playing with the youngsters around him , he’s looking better. That’s because there’s increased movement around him to take advantage of the space he creates. Many a time, at the beginning of the season, I saw him move and hold up the ball, but there wasn’t movement around him, so he’d either loose the ball attempting to dribble , or he’d have to pass back.
If Laca is not a star like you say, it’s because he chose arsenal and not Atletico or Lyon.
Just to give you a similar example , when we signed Laca he was the best player at Lyon which meant he was a star. Now we want Aouar who is the best player at Lyon and is a star. Does he stop being a star after he joins arsenal?
I have just read Agboola’s article tearing Aubamayang to pieces before reading this one doing the same to Lacazette. So much negativity! I thought we were all supposed to be Arsenal SUPPORTERS !
Al, no sensible fan I havw eve spoken to has ever considered LACAZETTE a”bum”! An odd comment I thought from you! But neither is he a “great” player to use the word great correctly. He is right now playing well again and hopefully will continue. But his Arsenal career had been a curates egg, -good in parts – and not more than that. Is not that the real truth!
Laca works hard for the team and has been better than Auba this season. But if we want to push on, we would sell him in the summer. Let’s look at how things are going. We just signed Auba to a new deal, and Laca is still a starting striker that cannot hit 15-20 goals a season even. You kind of need that if you want to go places. A player who shows great desire but ST is now a position we can improve upon and need to improve upon if we want to keep up with the other teams.
Lacazette is by far a much better player than Auba, he may not be a star but plays much better football, Auba is clearly playing like Ozil, lazy and just running on the field cos its his job… You Go Laca