Alexandre Lacazette; should Arsenal splash the cash or is he another striker with a price tag that doesn’t match the talent? With Lyon club President Jean-Michel Aulus commanding a fee of £35m for the French forward, eyebrows have been raised as to whether the 24-year-old is worth the the hefty price.
Despite not wanting to sell Lacazette, the Lyon President said: “Of course, if a €50m-60m (£35m-42m) bid was tabled, I will no doubt have to prepare for his exit and wish him good luck,” Aulas told French newspaper L’Equipe.
Having scored 31 goals in 38 games for Lyon in the 2014/15 season, only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo scored more goals than Lacazette in the top five leagues across Europe.
Lacazette was given the Player of the Year award and was awarded top scorer, having scored 27 league goals in Ligue 1, but many on lookers still doubt the ability of the Frenchman to ‘do it’ on a regular basis for a top European side.
With last season being Lacazette’s best ever in terms of goals, many feel concerned that the Lyon forward will turn out to be a ‘one season wonder’, but it is not his first good goal scoring season for the French club.
In the 2013/14 season, the 24-year-old scored 22 goals in 54 appearances, and while it’s less than the previous campaign, it shows that as Lacazette matures and grows as a forward, he is beginning to find a real consistency to his football; also earning a call up to the French national side ahead of the likes of Giroud and Arsenal-linked Karim Benzema.
Arsenal signed Olivier Giroud in 2012, off the back of a league winning season for Montpellier, with Giroud the star man, scoring 25 goals for his club. Since signing for the North London side, Giroud has failed to score more than 22 goals in a single season for Arsenal, breaking the 20-goal boundary mark on only one occasion, while Lacazette has done so comfortably in the last two seasons.
Giroud scored 14 goals for Montpellier the season prior to their league victory and his 25 goal-haul, so did Arsenal also sign a one season wonder, or did Wenger sign a player with something different, something that he identified to be fantastic potential? Many could make cases for both, but what is certain is that Giroud has failed to step up for Arsenal against the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool.
A fantastic striker is what the 28-year-old is, but a limited one at that and in those games, with Arsenal having to play on the back foot at times, his severe lack of pace is what clearly hinders Arsenal; Lacazette has that in abundance.
The Arsenal boss is well known for creating fantastic relationships with young French stars; Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Patrick Vieira to name a few who joined the club as somewhat unknown talents before turning into club legends.
Lacazette will offer something to Arsenal that the club has not had for a number of years; a true, quick, clinical forward who will make life for the likes of Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla a lot easier.
The French forward has the quality to drive Arsenal to the top of the Premier League and for £35m, he is worth every single penny.
