Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette Has To Come Before Lukaku

Arsenal are now in on two strikers and two strikers only – Alexandre Lacazette and Romelu Lukaku. But there should be only one, and it’s the Frenchman.

It’s been quiet. The only noise has been the clamor of unsatisfied Arsenal supporters, Jose Mourinho’s squeaky little voice and Takuma Asano’s shock. But in terms of transfer talk. Quiet. It’s eerie.

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The newest rumblings, and they have not passed the stage of being more than mere rumblings, indicate that Arsenal has two strikers on their radar and two strikers only. Those two are Romelu Lukaku and Alexandre Lacazette.

Solid choices for Arsenal. But to me, there is only one choice.

I like Romelu Lukaku. I do. But there is one massive flaw that I see in a Lukaku acquisition. I’ll try not to point to his disappearance against the Welsh too much, but, while we’re on the topic, it’s not the first time. Lukaku has a blatant tendency to switch off the jets and simply coast.

It’s a shame, because he is a physical beast that can dominate games. He just doesn’t go for it all the time. Something tells me that won’t jive with the team philosophy that Arsene Wenger has been gunning for. Of course, Wenger got Theo Walcott to defend, so maybe he can light a match under Lukaku’s Belgian tush.

Still though, if it’s frustration that Arsenal are tired of, steer clear of Lukaku. He is incredibly frustrating. He always has been.

And, slightly off topic, I want him to stay at Everton so that team can finally fulfill its potential.

Then there is Lacazette. To me, there is nothing more endearing than clear, unbridled effort. It’s why Aaron Ramsey is my absolute favorite player and why Alexis caught my eye at the 2010 World Cup. No matter how bad you’re playing or how out of sync you are, if you are hustling, pushing your limits and putting in the effort to turn things around, then you will be just fine. Give me a guy who gives 100% every single match and has less natural ability over a guy who gives between 60%-80% and has all the ability in the world.

I may not always agree with Wenger, but that is something I feel like we share. His view for Arsenal is built upon effort.

Conveniently, that is what Lacazette has. He is an absolute workhorse who gives his all day in and day out.

The fact that he has a good degree of natural ability is just a pleasant side effect of his effort.

I feel like the biggest argument in Lukaku’s favor is that he is ‘proven’ at the Premier League level, whereas Lacazette has only done it in France. But that’s a bit inaccurate, seeing as how, despite how many goals Lukaku scores in England, he still has that disappearing tendency.

Meanwhile, for as spat upon as Ligue 1 is in terms of judging talent, I always look at it from a perspective of, if you didn’t do it at PSG, it’s easier to get a good read. Aside form PSG, the level of competition in France is more evenly-tiered and you can get a good read of how a player performs. The main draw of the Premier League is the consistent level of competition. But in terms of points of separation, there were fewer between PSG and Lens than Leicester and Aston Villa.

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Granted, the teams are obviously on a different level. My point is that for players like Lacazette, where success is predicated on hard work, balanced competition, no matter the level, is a good indication. Especially when taking into consideration that he is an excellent finisher.

Lacazette isn’t surrounded by Matuidi, Verratti, Cavani and the like. He didn’t even have Nabil Fekir this past year. But he still managed 23 goals in 43 starts. At Arsenal, he would be surrounded by Ozil, Alexis, Xhaka and the like.

Some people may also point to Lacazette’s absence from the French national side as proof that he isn’t worth it. But to me, his absence is more an indictment on Didier Deschamps than Lacazette. Why he would prefer a guy who dominated Liga MX is beyond me, especially given how little he has contributed. You want to talk about a lapse in competitive quality…

Plus, part of the problem is that Lacazette is like-for-like with Griezmann, who is a guarantee to be successful at any competition.

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With his work rate and his ability to finish, Lacazette is a guarantee to be a success at Arsenal. And I don’t deal in guarantees much.