The 26-year-old arrives at Emirates Stadium for a huge fee but will
relish the pressure and could be Arsenal's star man next season
Arsenal have finally got their man. Alexandre Lacazette will arrive
in London this week to sign a five-year deal with the Gunners following
his big money move from Lyon.
It’s a transfer which manager Arsene Wenger has pursued for three
years and after initially baulking at the £60 million price slapped on
the 26-year-old by Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas, the Arsenal manager
has succeeded in negotiating a rather impressive deal in getting
Lacazette for a fee in the region of £46m
Luis Suarez, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema are all world class
forwards Wenger has attempted to sign over the years and while Lacazette
may not yet be in the same bracket as those players, he possesses
enough star quality to become the club’s record signing, eclipsing the
£42.5m fee paid for Mesut Ozil in 2013. And he could be the man to solve
Arsenal's striker problem with Alexis Sanchez yet to commit his future
to the club.
The mammoth fee will heap pressure on Lacazette to perform, but he
can take faith in his impressive goalscoring record for Lyon. Having
spent his entire career at the French giants, Lacazette began his career
as a winger before shifting to a central role in similar fashion to
Gunners legend Thierry Henry. He ended the 2014-15 season as Ligue 1
Player of the Year following a campaign where he scored 27 goals in 33
appearances but rejected moves to various sides in Europe - including
Arsenal.
Lacazette has played in every age group for the French national team and
revealed that advice from Henry in the summer of 2013 helped influence
him to become a better striker. Wenger passed up on the opportunity of
signing the Lyon man last summer after Olivier Giroud was selected in
France’s Euro 2016 squad ahead of him. But while the two are now
competing for a striking spot at Arsenal there remains the possibility
that Giroud will look to leave the north London club for a team where
he’s guaranteed to be the main striker.
When asked in 2015 if Arsenal could one day sign Lacazette, Arsenal legend Robert Pires told
Goal: “Why not? His characteristics and style of play will suit Arsenal.
"Although he doesn’t have a big posture, he’s quick, can dribble, and
has great skill. He also scores many goals. Perhaps he will be an
Arsenal 'best buy' in the future.”
The signing could also be good news for Mesut Ozil. With one year
remaining on his current contract it is crucial that the German
international sparks into form next season and replicates his
performances of two seasons ago where he became the Premier League's
assist king. If Ozil can provide the passes that he has become renowned
around the world for, then Lacazette will undoubtedly be there to oblige
with his cool finishing.
"He is very active, he can play both sides, technically he is very
gifted and he has been scoring 25, 30 goals for the last four years in
the French league so he is a proven goalscorer," former Arsenal defender
Mikael Silvestre told
talkSPORT recently.
"In terms of adaptability to Arsenal's style, he has all the
qualities. He is very intelligent, he can make up the play with [Mesut]
Ozil, with [Aaron] Ramsey, with [Danny] Welbeck.
"I think he would be a great addition for Arsenal. And he speaks French!"
Loyalty is a rare trait among footballers nowadays. Their careers are
short and many understandably end up playing for whoever offers them
the biggest pay cheque, but Lacazette’s decision to finally depart his
hometown club for London is the right one. He is entering into the best
years of his career and scored 28 goals last season at a rate of one
goal every 86 minutes. He has 113 goals in the last four seasons alone.
Wenger may be concerned by the back injuries that have troubled
Lacazette in recent years and his weaknesses on the pitch are mostly
related to his lack of aerial presence. He is strong, can hold off
defenders and possesses enough pace to beat most opposition players in
the final third. The high quality of shots converted shows that he could
be the man to take Arsenal to the next level, although it is vital that
they still keep hold of Alexis going into next season.
Arsenal’s summer arrivals have so far been secured before the start
of pre-season. Sead Kolasinac is a left-back who was named in the
Bundesliga team of the season and Lacazette is undoubtedly one of the
best strikers in France. They may be unproven in the Premier League but
both additions are a sign that Arsenal and Wenger mean business going
into the new Premier League season — and they could be blessed with a
squad which their domestic rivals will be envious of.
