Arsenal is facing another summer of uncertainty and one of the issues to sort out is the future of Alexandre Lacazette.
The French striker has entered the last year of his current deal at the Emirates and he has worked hard to earn a new one.
After spending years in the shadows of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, he emerged as a trustworthy member of the Arsenal squad this season.
After landing his latest deal, Aubameyang suddenly lost his scoring touch, but Lacazette stepped up very well.
The Frenchman had looked to be on his way out of the Emirates when the transfer window reopened.
However, after showing improved scoring form, it is understandable that the club might consider an extension to his current terms.
But Arsenal has to be careful because he wouldn’t be the first player to play well just to earn a new deal.
Aubameyang did that last season when we practically begged him to remain at the club.
As soon as he signed the new deal, goals disappeared from his game and we’re left hoping that we haven’t already seen the best of him.
I am grateful to Lacazette for his performance for the Gunners, but I understand why the club would feel insecure in making him a new offer.
I would personally say we should cash in on him now that he is in fine form, which will have maintained some value.
An article from Ime
I agree but we can’t go into next season with Auba the only striker in the squad with any kind of record behind him. How confident do we feel that he’ll start playing like his old self? Even when at his best, he was generally better playing from the wing. Nketiah hasn’t shown anything like the level we need, Martinelli hasn’t proven he can play CF yet and it would be crazy to bank on Balogun proving he can be our starting CF for next season, so if Laca goes, we need a serious replacement who could realistically be our main CF.
If we could sell Auba, I’d keep Laca on, new contract or not, and sign another CF. I think that would be our best situation.
@Davi
Lacazette will turn into another Auba if he gets his hands on a new contract. The only reason Martinelli has not succeeded is because we have a bogus coach Arteta who is a stumbling block to every young player in the club.
Re Laca: you know that for sure? I’d rather take my chances on a player who has shown a bit of graft than Auba, who has already proven he won’t.
What happens when Martinelli injures his knee or Balogun suffers fatigue (assuming he’s even capable of leading the line in the PL next season)? We’re stuck with nothing… Doesn’t matter who the coach is, it would be crazy to bank the season on them, not because they’re not good enough, but because they haven’t had time to show they can do the job yet.
The fact that Saka and ESR and Tierney have done well under Arteta appears to have escaped your notice.
They did well in spite of Arteta.
👍👍
Laca is nothing like Auba. As Davi pointed out the
Frenchmen even when misfiring ALWAYS puts in a
shift and has been nothing but a consummate
professional since signing from Lyon.
Auba isn’t worth the headaches off the pitch if he
continues to be a passenger on it.
👍
every? so ESR and saka are old?
What about Saka, ESR, Tierney? Even Odegard on loan?If you are good enough, you do not make the grade for Mikel. No more father figures like Arsene in the club. Gabi has to be handled properly, the lad has just had two devastating injuries, he needs to be intergrated into the team properly and the coach/medics know how to handle the situation. Just read about ESRs loan at HT and you come to know about the behind the scenes player management.
Back to the topic, if we are serious about contending for honors, then Laca needs to go irrespective of his contract.Remember he went one year without an away goal? And he can take along with him Leno, Bellerin, Xhaka, Elneny, Kolasinac, Torrera, Guendozi, Willian, none would be missed just as no one misses Ozil, Socrates and Mustafi
Don’t disagree but Laca needs to be *properly* replaced because however good or bad he is, he’s by far our best option for CF currently.
Arteta and edu get out n kip laca he proved himself and saved us from relegation with his goals .
Adre Silva of Frankfurt is the ideal replacement. Sign him or at worst the Tammy Abraham from Chelsea. In fact, find another striker not Osdonne
We have Martinelli and Balogun, it’s their turn now. Am more excited to see them than Lacazette.
QD.. Lord Bendtner has retired
Just seen that @Sue! Troll Football are all over him on Twitter with the memes.
Off topic but genuine question…
Why is Southgate playing players in the friendly that aren’t in the Euro squad? I would think he’d want the group that’s going to Euros to play together as much as possible?
Think he’s resting the man city and Chelsea players because of CL final .
And Man Utd players
11 players rested in total
It’s simple. Give Laca a 1 year extension on the same wages, take it or leave it.
Laca must be sold immediately, along with Eddie, as neither have a logical future with the club; not to mention that Laca has never lived up to the hype and/or his wages…as far as Auba goes, besides a few injury/illness concerns, his reduced numbers are a function of the negative tactics pursued by our current manager…if you don’t believe me just look at the stats, in 2019-20 he played 4312 minutes and had 111 shots, whereas this past season he played 4143 minutes but only had 56 shots…if you don’t have the requisite service or the necessary help, when it comes to getting open looks in crucial areas in and around the box, your numbers will inevitably suffer…Arteta functionally turned Auba into the world’s most expensive decoy…no wonder he wasn’t pleased by what was transpiring, as he knew full-well he was going to face considerable criticism after signing a lucrative deal…there’s no way he would have re-upped unless Arteta gave him some assurances about how the new offensive scheme, with go old Willian onboard, would provide him with ample opportunities
Auba looks slower though. It’s not just about service, he used to make the chances himself but doesn’t seem so able to cut in and shoot when he does get the ball.
Anyway, whether or not it’s because of Arteta’s tactics, how willing are you to bet next season in Auba suddenly returning to his old self?
Also, on the very few occasions we’ve looked like a exciting, attacking side this season, it’s been when Laca’s on the pitch; he makes his teammates better – if he must go, we need to replace that ability to bring others into the game (otherwise I promise next season will be even more boring to watch!)
I don’t think any club is willing to pay for Aubameyang and his high salary, so unfortunately we have to sell Lacazette. It’s going to be difficult to find a new CF with Lacazette’s abilities, but we can’t enter the new season with both Aubameyang and Lacazette in the starting line-ups
I also agree that we have to learn from what happened to Walcott, Ozil and Aubameyang, after they got their mega contracts. However, I don’t think Balogun and Martinelli can replace Lacazette, so we’d better gamble on a new CF
I don’t understand why this has happened so often at Arsenal – it doesn’t happen to every player when they got 30, look at Cavani, Suarez, Ibra; they all continue to play with pride regardless of what they’re paid.
Walcott was a different issue I guess – too much too early, like denilson.
It could be their mentality problem or Arsenal are too generous to them. An employee will be complacent if he’s trapped in comfort zone
Cavani, Suarez and Ibrahimovic are also great CFs who’re endowed with good hold-up play, link-up and aerial abilities. They’re not as fast as Aubameyang, but they usually carry their teams and lead the front line consistently
Whereas Walcott, Ozil and Aubameyang usually can’t change the course of the game alone, if the team is struggling. This is why finding a new CF is very important
I don’t think the playing style is important. Auba was practically carrying us before, he couldn’t dominate a game but he could decide it with a moment – that takes focus to seize the moment. Ozil and Walcott were also capable of that when fully switched on and up for the game.
With Auba I’m caught in two minds as to whether he’s no longer motivated or has just reached the end as a top level player. He’s nowhere near as quick as he use to be and not everyone can maintain it to 37.
Aubameyang is still fast, but he can’t use his pace if the opposition park the bus. Many teams chose to use defensive tactics against us, because of our high ball possession style
I believe Aubameyang will thrive in counter-attacking systems, such as Mourinho’s, Rodgers and Simeone’s
The £€$ got inyo auba’s head same as ozil
That’s why you fail to grasp the situation…only Suarez, of your 3 examples has scored more goals over the last 3 seasons(6 more)…it’s all about tactics and opportunities, it’s not like Auba was afforded the opportunities of Werner then shite the bed, he was literally treated like an afterthought, in the grand scheme of things, when it came to the overall game-plan…he rarely had the chance to run onto a ball, to utilize his speed advantage, since we hardly ever played long balls/stretch passes, and we had virtually no presence, minus ESR for a handful of games, in the middle of the park to play direct balls into his feet in and around the box…Laca, on the other hand, had far more touches because he played with his back to goal, close to the center-stripe, so at least if he attracted a defender he could play a pass and try to get into the defender’s vacated space…I’m in no way suggesting that Auba played his ass off every minute he was on the pitch, but I would dare you to find someone, who was so strangely isolated up the pitch between 2 defenders, who has done so when there’s virtually no service coming his way…he was living off the table scraps of this slow-moving cross-heavy offensive scheme all season long
Yes but that’s what he was living off before – we were trash before last season but we often had Auba to bail us out. Auba largely played off the wing (because he’s never looked good with his back to goal) and maybe didn’t do a lot in the games, but was ready to pounce on literally anything. Quick burst inside and curl it into the far post was his bread and butter. He got quite a few tap ins as well due to his good box movement but he’s not making the same moves anymore.
It makes me think of RVP – how many times did he turn a poor or average cross/pass into a goal or almost goal? Dozens of times in his 18 month streak. That’s what really top forwards do and it’s what Auba was doing before last season. Trouble is, if he’s not doing that, he doesn’t offer much else, whereas RVP was always worth his place even when he didn’t score, and Laca is more worthy of a place in this side currently than Auba for the same reason.
I get that you want to cherry-pick anything that might support your narrative, but in previous seasons under both Emery and Wenger, the imperative, albeit not always successful, was to try and outscore one’s opponent
under those schemes, far more players were committed to the final third, which naturally led to more opportunities for Auba and likewise to opposing teams on the counter…defences were stretched a bit, leaving far more 1 v. 1 scenarios, which Auba exploited, whereas now we rarely, if ever, have the numbers in those areas
this problem has not only affected his production, as we’ve seen how both Saka and Pepe have struggled at times to get good looks as they’re constantly encountered double and even triple teams in areas that matter
just think of how many times you witnessed Auba get an opportunity at the top of the box, on the left, compared to previous seasons…these opportunities require the requisite amount of movement and craft on the part of others, whether through dummy runs or a leading pass ripe for a one-touch shot, which is why our production has suffered
we’re simply too static and predictable, which makes it incredibly difficult for players on top, especially with the incessantly slow build-up that allows opposing players the time required to restore their respective shape
I don’t think you know what cherry pick means.
I don’t agree Emery’s plan was to outscore opponents, I think he tried to make us solid and balanced with regards to attack (at least that’s how it appeared to me). And under both managers, we weren’t always a great force in attack (just more so than this season).
You think the reason he’s had so many fewer chances is because the team is too defensive compared to previous seasons – I agree with you that must be true to some extent, but I also believe the Auba of the last few seasons would have received far more chances and scored far more goals in the same circumstances. It’s a two way thing, the forwards also have to move to create the openings for the pass, be there when the chances come, and sometimes make them themselves. Auba is clearly doing this less than in previous seasons.
I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree…Emery did try to provide a more balanced approach eventually, in large part due to the ridiculous amount of shots we were conceding, but early days he was high pressing and committing a lot of players in the opponents final third…even Lucas, before he fell out of favour, spent a considerable amount of time in and around the box…ultimately, I think the negative tactics were the biggest contributing factor when it came to the drop-off in Auba’s production…not to mention, the narrative changed drastically when Arteta publicly admonished Auba, much in the same vein when the club, under Wenger, used the press to undermine the relationship between the fanbase and Sanchez
Sakaasaaa
OT.. Saka with his first International goal 👏
Good goal. He’s very talented and versatile
He sure is, gai!
It was also the winner Sue. I am so happy for him.
Me too, Phenom! What a player!!
For Arteta and Edu to resuffle Arsenal striker’s department personnel against next season’s campaign that now mainly consists of Auba, Laca, Nketiah, Martinelli and Balogun. But without signing a new 30 goals and above per season regular goals scoring striker playing at a top League this summer to upgrade the department to serve as a guarantee to any failures in the 5 man striker’s department will not be a wise decision that is taken but if taken by the duo Arsenal chieftains I would rather opin.
Therefore, my verdict read: Next season’s campaign Arsenal striker’s department personnel should be: Auba, Laca, New, Martinelli and Balogun for adequate options and to cover.
I think a room in the Arsenal striker’s department will become available in the 1st team squad that will accommodate the new striker signed if Eddie Nketiah is offloaded on sale this summer to create a room for the new incoming striker to come in into the team.
Fact is what top striker is going to want to join arsenal at the moment, mid table no European football and the main striker happens to be the captain. We may as well hope that last season was a one off and stick with auba, plus give laca a 1 year add on with another option at the end. We are simply not going to get much better for the next year or so by which time balogun, john-jules and miller may have come good.
ATID
I BELIEVE we are no worse off if aubes, lacca and willian all go in one go
At least we have a starting place of zero and then build from there
Between all 3 we must be pushing 600 to 700k per week on wages and to be honest we have had little return for the money
Very true AB.
Hope the club still need this man in some way through my knowledge lacazett has helped me the Gunner’s in a tiety game scoring leaving the team keeping important three point in the league so giving lacazett new contract hope will be so important and helpful
Lacazette is a totally different personality to Aubameyang and is one of the few players, who rarely can be accused of not putting in a shift.
At his age I wouldn’t be against a one year extension, provided the wages stay similar to current. He is not likely to earn more elsewhere and he is far from starving.
The positive for Lacazette is that he is a team player and appears to have a very sound relationship with young players like Saka, ESR, Odegaard and Balogun. He would be a positive influence on the development of Balogun, Moller and Nheketia (if retained).
Talking of “strikers” – off thread, but may be / may not be of interest.
Nicklas Bendtner has retired at the age of 33.
Although far from being a regular during his tenure at the club, notice when he was signed – the season following after our invincible season !
2005–2014 Arsenal appearances 108
My point.
We never used our success at the time as a springboard to greater things on the park, thus entering our move of home in much stronger shape.
The above player was the type of dross we often signed through financial necessity, and are still struggling to recover.
We left our spiritual home home to “compete with the likes of Bayern” – last season we ended up battling the likes of Everton, Leeds and that lot down the road for a place in the Europa Conference League !
Below is the team from our first competitive match at the Emirates (Villa 1-1) – how far have we really progressed ?
Lehmann, Eboue, Toure, Djourou, Hoyte (Flamini 80), Hleb, Fabregas, Silva, Ljungberg (Walcott 73), Adebayor (Van Persie 65), Henry.
Subs Not Used: Almunia, Cygan.
It goes way beyond Mikel Arteta believe me !
Keep Laca
We need to raise funds, Laca’s down to his final year, and we don’t need 4 strikers when we have no European football.
Very easy decision, sell!
Rumor has it, we are considering selling Aubamayeng. That would be a blessing in disguise. If he leaves give Laca a one year extension and sign a decent striker. Hope Tuchel comes knocking with a £50m Cheque.
Laca is still good better cash in for Auba toget more fund