Is Alexandre Lacazette Good Enough To Survive The Arrival Of Aubameyang At Arsenal?

Is Alexandre Lacazette Good Enough To Survive The Arrival Of Aubameyang At Arsenal?
14:00, 11 Feb 2018

A lot can change in a few months. It’s something that Alexandre Lacazette might be pondering at the moment, as he reflects, perhaps a little ruefully, on life at the Emirates so far. Back in July, he joined Arsenal as the marquee signing of a strangely subdued summer. A greater overhaul of the squad was anticipated but the French striker at least represented a significant change of tack and statement of intent.

Although Arsene Wenger has traditionally been reluctant to spend big money on fully-formed players with less scope for improvement, Lacazette was a notable exception. Having failed to qualify for the Champions League, supporters were getting restless about the club’s diminished status and apparent lack of direction. A record purchase helped to temporarily smooth over some underlying concerns. If nothing else, at least Arsenal meant business in the transfer market.

Lacazette was installed as their undisputed first-choice striker. Beneath the surface, a level of unease remained. The new boy was good, but was he good enough? He had an impressive record but had never played outside of France before and maybe there was a reason that it had taken this long for somebody to stump up the necessary cash for him. Doubts existed over whether he was quite the top class forward required and his performances so far have borne that out.

There have been nine goals in 29 games – a decent but deeply unremarkable return, particularly for a striker who cost in the region of £52million – and just one in his last 13 after a promising start. Still, the intention was never for him to be eclipsed quite so quickly. Breaking Lacazette's transfer record for an older, more established and prolific striker wasn't the aim heading into the January transfer window but sometimes things don't turn out as planned. 

Normally so meticulous, Wenger was forced to act on the hoof during a turbulent transfer window for Arsenal. In difficult and uncertain circumstances, the possibility of bringing in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was simply too tempting for him to resist. No longer content with his limited opportunities, Olivier Giroud wanted to move on, and Aubameyang was suddenly available. Reuniting him with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, an unexpected windfall from the tawdry Alexis Sanchez affair, was an enticing prospect.

Doing so has left Wenger with a conundrum. Two elite strikers who expect to play, having cost more than £100million in total to buy, and a system that can only accommodate one. Aubameyang was preferred last week, scoring on a lively debut against Everton, and started ahead of Lacazette again in the North London derby. He deserved to do so.

He’d been a strangely familiar threat to the Tottenham defence, having played against them four times over the last two years, including twice already this season in the Champions League. Overall, he grabbed four goals in those games – his pace, clever movement and single-mindedness difficult for Spurs to deal with. They’re not alone in that. Aubameyang is one of the best strikers in the world and clearly a cut above Lacazette.

As the game kicked off at Wembley, Lacazette was left watching on once more, potentially wondering where his Arsenal career goes from here. He came on after 65 minutes, with his side trailing to another Harry Kane goal. Lacazette had the chance to be a hero towards the end but squandered it, rolling his shot wide of the far post. It capped off a frustrating day.

Being dropped doesn’t have to be fatal but Aubameyang is an exceptional player and unlikely to surrender his spot easily. Unless there’s a radical change in how Arsenal set up, the two can’t easily co-exist. Still in the first year of a contract that runs until 2022, Lacazette's entitled to think that this isn't the role he signed up for.

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