Nigel Winterburn claims that Arsenal will regret losing Alexandre Lacazette in the near future, but won’t blame the striker for looking to an exit.
The Frenchman has started just one of our nine Premier League matches so far this season, the recent win over Aston Villa, but could well be set for an extended run of action after two impressive outings in the last seven days.
Laca came off the bench against Palace and immediately brought an energy with was lacking, moving to gee up the fans in the process, and he eventually mustered up an equalising goal deep into injury time to save his side’s blushes.
The 30 year-old was then in top form during our win over Villa also, and some are now questioning whether we should be allowing him to leave without a fight, which is certainly what appears to be happening from the outside.
When asked if we would regret allowing the former Lyon star to leave, Winterburn told Tribal Football: ‘It’s looking that way.
‘Arsenal’s policy, this season particularly, is to bring in younger players, but then you have to respect the decision on Lacazette’s behalf.
‘He may feel he isn’t getting enough game time and needs to move on or is he somebody who feels he might want to stay?
‘I don’t know those details, but anyone who has anything about them wants to play football and to me he’s a guy who thrives on playing games.
‘I’ll be disappointed to see him go if he does leave because I still think he has an important part to play for Arsenal.’
While our transfer policy will lose some credibility in losing such a player for free after allowing his contract to run into the latter stages, I don’t feel as though his departure will prove to be a regret as such.
Those feelings will of course come to fruition if his potential replacement turns out to be a flop however, but the biggest regret when the time comes may well be that we didn’t offload him sooner, before the likes of Patson Daka and Odsonne Edouard had left their previous clubs, with both already showing signs of being top Premier League signings this summer.
Should Lacazette be offered a new contract?
Patrick
OT Went to the library today to ask when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s book on football management and how to win a trophy will be in.
I haven’t got a clue she replied?
That’s the one I said 😛
That book is now out of print. Interesting book they reckon. 456 pages. No illustrations, no words. Every page is blank. And it’s edited and foreword by our very own Mikel Arteta. There’s talk they are going to make a movie about it
Haha very good mate 😂😂
Lacazette should leave, for him to be useful at Newcastle. the team would need a radical make over. He is a complete center forward who is perfectly capable of scoring 20 league goals a season as the main striker, but Newcastle are team that needs everything.
Here is the team that Newcastle should field by the end of the summer transfer window.
Goalkeeper – Ilan Meslier (Leeds) & Karl Darlow
A young keeper with talent and the ability to stop shots, play with the ball at his feet, and make good decisions. Darlow is a capable reserve.
Left Back – Robin Gosens – (Atalanta) – Jamal Lewis
Right Back – Tariq Lamptey, (Brighton) –
Two modern full backs with the ability to defend and attack with equal verve. Current reserves Lewis and Manquillo adequate
Center Back – Jamal Lascelles, Rob Holding (Arsenal)
Jamal Lascelles is a quality player and too much change will cause implosion. He is a leader and a solid player. Holding was Arsenal’s best defender over the last couple of seasons. His reward was the bench. Available for a good price. Clark and Schar as reserves.
Defensive Midfield – Ismael Bennacer (A.C. Milan) Isaac Hayden in reserve.
Hayden is probably good enough, but Bennacer has premier league roots at Arsenal and he is one of the best in the world right now.
Central Midfield – James Ward-Prowse (Southampton) Willock in reserve.
Experience, youth, goals, assists and set pieces. A full package.
Attacking Midfield – Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
Miguel Almiron in reserve. Almiron is fine for the transition phase. Wirtz is a bright, shiny new star looking to blossom.
Left Wing – Allan Saint Maximin – Ryan Fraser in Reserve
Hard to find a more dynamic player than Saint Maximin. Fraser can be dynamic, but struggles in a supporting role.
Right Wing – Marco Ascensio (Real Madrid) – Jacob Murphy in reserve.
Ascensio is a star, he is unwanted at Madrid, and he can be had. He scores, defends, and assists.
Center forward – Alxeandre Laxcazette (Arsenal) Calum Wilson in reserve
Lacazette, with this kind of team around him, will score 20 per season, and Wilson will give the team 10+ in reserve and probably avoid the injuries that plague him.
@paul35mm
You’re the only gunner that mean well for the Magpies
The rest, ILL
2 Years contract with an option of a year will not be a bad decision. Unless, we are ready to spend big like an over 100M on a proofing striker to replace him.
Laca must be retained at all costs. His work rate, energy on and off the ball, link up play and leadership all count to the Arsenal cause. He is a complete CF, capable of playing in the midfield.
MO did it and we renewd his contract, it ended in tears for the fans & club, while the man laughed his day at home, PEA did it and got a bumper contract, so Laca is trying the same tried and tested trick, but will not work out with Mikel now. Laca’s EPL stats apps vs goals
2017/18 32/14
2018/19 35/13
2019/20 30/10
2020/21 31/13
In his prime, he never touched 15 goals a season so what can he do at 30?.He is paid to bang in goals, not hold the ball, blah, blah, blah. We need an upgrade, plain an simple. No more excuses. We need to be sentimental to the club, not the underperforming high earning players.A years’ extention on 90 grand a week or walk. And he may take Kolasinac & Elneny with him.
If Laca goes, do we have a replacement ready to step into the PL and start performing. Its not only goals that count but also the overall game of a striker, point in case being Ferminho and Diego Jota of Liverpool. Their game brings Salah and Mane into play and score. Also what matters is positive energy that is being transmitted by Laca to his other teammates which was clearly evident in the Palace game wherein he lifted the whole team and got the crucial equaliser. Laca brings much more to the whole team than what is being pictured and I for one feel it would be a huge loss if we let him go. Finally comparing Laca to earlier Arsenal failures after contract extension is unfair, because each player is different in terms of attitude, work rate and quality.
Seems to me that Martinelli is Auba’s successor while Flo is Laca’s. If Flo ends up spending the second half of the season in the Championship and does well, he’ll be ready to take his apprenticeship to the next level. If this is the case, we’ll need Laca for at least another season. Personally, I’d love him to retire at Arsenal and transition into coaching for us. But he’d need to accept that his salary will have to take a financial hit given his best years are behind him.