Arsenal: Thierry Henry Alexandre Lacazette link opens shutting door

Alexandre Lacazette has stated that he has had contact with Thierry Henry. It opens a quickly shutting door for Arsenal to sign the Lyon striker.

The Champions League often feels like the be all and end all. When it comes to the closing stages of the Premier League season, the clubs chasing those precious top four positions are desperate to avoid the dreaded Europa League and book their place in Europe’s elite competition. This year, Arsenal are one of four fighting for two final spots.

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Their quest seems insurmountable. While they have one or two games in hand on their competition, they also currently sit five points off of the top four and do not look capable of putting a run together during the remainder of the season.

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But why is qualification for the Champions League such an important goal for clubs to attain at the end of the season? Well, here are some quotes from Alexandre Lacazette that perhaps give a peak behind the curtain as to why it is seen as a crucial achievement, where he heralds the importance of the competition:

"“I’m going to keep working, with the hope that good opportunities come for me this summer. [The team I join] will have to be in the Champions League and play good football, passing the ball, not just hitting it from box to box. Not kick and rush. That would not work for me. Thierry Henry shook me and told me to keep pushing myself, something we tend to forget when we are young. It made an impression, of course. When a player like Thierry Henry speaks to you, you pay attention. I realised that being a great player is a full-time job.”"

That is why qualifying for the Champions League is so essential. Because players of the calibre of Lacazette will not even consider signing if it is not on offer. And Lacazette would certainly be an excellent signing for Arsenal. A ruthless finisher with an excellent goalscoring record, boasting the pace to stretch the pitch and threaten in behind, Lacazette would excel spearheading the creative midfield at the Emirates.

But with Champions League qualification looking more and more unlikely for the Gunners, they may have to use slightly other means to keep open a quickly shutting door. In the same quotes, Lacazette also references the influence that Thierry Henry has had on his development, cherishing the advice from a former player as successful as the French forward.

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Lacazette is certainly an avenue that Arsenal should explore this summer, with or without Champions League football to offer him. If they have to use the link of Henry, then so be it. That’s how good Lacazette is.