The arrival of Alexandre Lacazette was greeted with huge excitement and in his first 13 games he managed to clock up 8 goals but then Wenger decided to rotate or substitute the Frenchman.
In his next 11 matches, his return plummeted to a single goal. He had done absolutely nothing wrong in that time and all the signs were promising that the North London club finally had a striker of substance.
Yet he was unable to complete a full 90 minutes regularly which many including myself found mystifying. The arrival of Aubameyang must have added to the anxiety and yet again Lacazette was suddenly reduced to the subs bench which no doubt dented his confidence.
So we come to Spurs VS Arsenal and Lacazette finally gets an opportunity but fluffs his lines. No surprise there.
What was surprising was the ignorant response of some fans who are now calling him a flop or waste of money.
He is far from that, he is a superb striker with pace and intelligence who needs to play regularly to get the best from him.
If a striker feels he doesn’t have the managers trust, confidence evaporates as quickly as someone opening a window in a room full of steam. The loss to Spurs was not Lacazette’s fault but was more a case of Arsenal not showing up for business.
Now, he could be out for 6-8 weeks due to injury and the Gunners now have a major issue in attack. Aubameyang is ineligible for the Europa cup and that leaves only Danny Welbeck in the role as a recognised striker.
As we all know, Danny Welbeck is a nice lad and on his day can cause defences problems but he is certainly not an out and out striker.
It’s yet another oversight on Arsenal’s behalf and the player probably overexerted himself trying to make a point.
One thing seems to lead to another at the Emirates and this season is rapidly becoming one where shortsightedness and short-term planning will prove extremely costly. If Welbeck gets injured, which, let’s be honest is highly likely, Arsenal may as well fold up the tent and pour water on the fire.
It’s the same old story but don’t start blaming Lacazette, it’s a team failure and it’s been a regular feature this season.
