Arsenal: 4 reasons Alexandre Lacazette needs to be dropped

April 9, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/13/arsenal-4-reasons-lacazette-drop-lineup/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div> <h2>4 reasons Arsenal need to drop Alexandre Lacazette from the team with his Premier League performances offering the side nothing</h2> <p>Lacazette has been given an easier ride than most. Well loved by the fanbase irrespective of his limitations, it is not acceptable that a 30-year-old <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/13/arsenal-4-reasons-lacazette-drop-lineup/"https://www.90min.com/leagues/premier-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Premier League</a> footballer is shattered after 60 minutes. He’s not 42 years old, he’s 30. Him being a respected leader around the club and his contract expiring in the summer has also contributed to the narrative around him.</p> <p>This is now at a critical stage where what he is providing Arsenal requires full forensic analysis. All of the link-up play he was famed for isn’t there either. That was the only aspect mitigating his complete lack of goal threat. Losing that as well now calls for action.</p> <p>With<a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/13/arsenal-4-reasons-lacazette-drop-lineup/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/11/arsenal-4-reasons-top-four-finish/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> top four still a faint hope</a> and European football on the whole even on the line, Arsenal have to try something for the sake of the season.</p> <p>Nobody is in the belief that whatever change happens at No. 9 or with the system will be the answer, because there is no definitive magic formula. What the situation is now is that it can’t really be any worse. It’s not what the best solution is, it is what the least worst solution is.</p> <p>This is genuinely painful to say given how much Lacazette is liked from an emotional point of view – there is absolutely no enjoyment drawn from treading down this path – but something must be done.</p> <div id="attachment_125044" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-125044" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/13/arsenal-4-reasons-lacazette-drop-lineup/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1390478690-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Laca" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 09: Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal is challenged by Yves Bissouma of Brighton &amp; Hove Albion during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Brighton &amp; Hove Albion at Emirates Stadium on April 09, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>1. Arsenal Have Become Too Easy to Defend Against</h2> <p>There are two sides to football: how to defend against a team and how you attack against them. Mikel Arteta succeeded in messing up both those aspects against Brighton.</p> <p>Yet with Lacazette leading the line the latter point is becoming predictable and simple to nullify for the opposition. Ask any central defender what they fear the most and it’s being caught in behind, or, at the very least, stretched vertically to leave gaps in front.</p> <p>For the likes of Joachim Andersen, Marc Guehi, Lewis Dunk and Joel Veltman of late, they could have pulled up a chair and ordered fish and chips from around the corner. They weren’t being tested in the slightest. Centre-backs are in dreamland knowing that they can keep their line high, squeeze the pitch, pin back Arsenal’s threat in wide areas and assert themselves on the game without any fear of being caught at pace through the middle.</p> <p>It’s so easy to defend against. Everyone knows what Lacazette will do and the fact he doesn’t even make any attempt to spin his man or burst in behind, regardless of whether he’s physically able or not, has resulted in matches where Arsenal become reliant on nicking the odd goal to win games.</p> <p>Aston Villa away, for example, should not have been a 1-0 game. While we talk about the chances that were there for Arsenal, it’s important to note which ones were not. As Villa pushed on and the Gunners sat deeper, there was no out-ball or threat in behind. They were allowed to force their line high. Lacazette would come deep once more and the team were left to try and build way back in their own half.</p> <p>There has to be a different threat.</p> <p><em>Continued on next page…</em></p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/13/arsenal-4-reasons-lacazette-drop-lineup/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Why Lacazette needs dropping #2 </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_124995" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-124995" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/13/arsenal-4-reasons-lacazette-drop-lineup/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1389666951-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Laca" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 04: Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal at Selhurst Park on April 4, 2022 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>2. Lacazette’s Performances are Getting Worse</h2> <p>This is another very serious point that should play in the manager’s mind. The Lacazette who came into the team during the back end of 2021 and carried his form over into 2022 is not the same Lacazette fans see now.</p> <p>He appears to be worsening, with his total lack of self-belief certainly a contributing factor.</p> <p>Less than half of the 15 passes played into him against Brighton were successful. His touch was dreadful, and he knew it. As the game wore on he peeled off into areas where he could hide and shirk responsibility. It’s a dreadful thing to say but can anyone watch the game and feel differently?</p> <p>It’s also apparent that his fitness, somehow, is deteriorating. When we speak about how he doesn’t even attempt to make the same runs or press as he used to, that’s possibly down to him needing conserve what little energy he has left.</p> <p>Whatever the reasons may be, his performances are getting steadily worse. Simple passes go astray, he doesn’t use his body with enough confidence and he can no longer trap the ball as consistently as he used to.</p> <p>The signs are there.</p> <p><em>Continued on next page…</em></p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/13/arsenal-4-reasons-lacazette-drop-lineup/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Why Lacazette needs dropping #3 </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_125135" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-125135" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/13/arsenal-4-reasons-lacazette-drop-lineup/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1238736010-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Laca" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 24: Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal reacts during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Emirates Stadium on February 24, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>3. Injuries Call for More Goal Threat</h2> <p>Arsenal needed more goal threat in general just by having a striker who doesn’t shoot let alone score, with the losses of Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey exacerbating the situation.</p> <p>Losing stability in defence and connectivity in the left triangles, as well as someone <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/13/arsenal-4-reasons-lacazette-drop-lineup/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/03/23/thomas-partey-arsenal-patrick-vieira/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who was the best in the Premier League</a> prior to his injury at turning defence into attack at the drop of a hat, has weakened Arsenal significantly. However Arteta seeks to ‘fix’ this problem, this side has lost levels to its game.</p> <p>No longer as sturdy at the back or progressive and solid in midfield, the need for goal threat to take what is sure to be the fewer chances Arsenal will create as a result gains importance. Not as fluid or threatening, when an opportunity falls to someone in and around the box, do Arsenal want that to be Lacazette?</p> <p>Falling into a groove where he’s effectively no longer even a striker, his average of two shots per 90 minutes is seeing him either snap at efforts or make the wrong choices. He has just two goals from open play this season, whereas Son scored more than that in 70 minutes against Aston Villa.</p> <p>Arsenal can’t be as relied upon to keep clean sheets with their most trusted defender and holding midfielder out of the team, and therefore require a stronger finisher up front to maximise their creativity.</p> <p><em>Continued on next page…</em></p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/13/arsenal-4-reasons-lacazette-drop-lineup/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Why Lacazette needs dropping #4 </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_124807" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-124807" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/13/arsenal-4-reasons-lacazette-drop-lineup/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1238977827-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Gabi" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Arsenal’s Brazilian striker Gabriel Martinelli celebrates after scoring his team third goal during the English Premier League football match between Watford. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>4. Arsenal Can’t Do Worse Than Lacazette</h2> <p>That’s the bottom line, which it wasn’t previously in the season. Lacazette won his spot in the team by default when Aubameyang left, as even though everyone knew what they were getting with him there was no other viable option who could do a better job.</p> <p>Yet it’s arrived at the point now where doing nothing would constitute a failure. Whether the decision is to put Eddie Nketiah <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/13/arsenal-4-reasons-lacazette-drop-lineup/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/03/31/arsenal-gabi-martinelli-striker-tactical/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">or Gabriel Martinelli</a> there is another matter, because there is no downside. Just as there is absolutely no guarantee of success for either – the fact is that neither would be anywhere near perfect and both come with deficiencies – there is no way Arsenal can lose at this stage.</p> <p>A few months ago there would have been, but now, when Lacazette is quite simply offering nothing, Arteta can’t go wrong at centre-forward.</p> <p>There is also a point to make about playing your best players on the pitch at once. Such is the level that Martinelli, Saka, Odegaard and Smith Rowe have found this season that the time has been coming where they no longer can be a scenario where one misses out.</p> <p>And, heck, if Arsenal do try something different without Lacazette and it becomes apparent that it’s going to require much more time than anticipated – and is in fact worse than before – then bring Lacazette on for the final 30 minutes and at least say you tried.</p> <div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Is the Champions League dream over?" data-url="https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/12/arsenal-dream-champions-league-finish/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/13/arsenal-4-reasons-lacazette-drop-lineup/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/04/12/arsenal-dream-champions-league-finish/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Is the Champions League dream over? </a> </div> </div> <p>Besides, that half an hour where his fitness levels are probably on par with the rest might actually suit him.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">