Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette not worth it if Olivier Giroud leaves

It’s been confirmed that Arsenal are in talks to land Alexandre Lacazette, but there is a certain unwanted consequence he may be carrying with him.

It’s official. No, not that Arsenal have landed Alexandre Lacazette, but it is official that talks are underway and a negotiation for a deal is in progress. Lyon owner Jean-Michel Aulas has confirmed that much.

After three long years of being tied to the guy, it now looks like the move is finally moving forward, with a transfer fee ranging somewhere between £45m and £60m. Also known as a completely reasonable fee.

Should the deal go through, Lacazette will bring a long awaited presence to the Arsenal front lines. The speed and technical ability are one thing, but his proven ability to score consistently is what we are really in this for.

However, it’s never all good news. Even in the early phases of negotiations, it’s clear what has to take place in order for Lyon to let Lacazette go. They have to find a replacement.

And Aulas has made no secret about it – he is looking at Olivier Giroud as that replacement.

“There has been an approach, at some point, for Giroud,” Aulas told L’Equipe.

This is a burden that Lacazette does not want to carry and one that I don’t want to see him carry. I know there are plenty of people out there all in on this kind of swap deal, but they need to realize that it isn’t that simple. You don’t just solve all of your problems by adding a proven striker. That’s not how it works.

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Here’s what happens. You swap Giroud for Lacazette. The latter takes some time getting used to the Premier League, as everyone inevitably does, and while he is struggling to score goals, we have to try new ways to score. We try Danny Welbeck, but he still can’t score consistently.

Then what? Then we suffer a drop in points because we let Giroud go when he was primed to have his best season ever as a Gunner. When he was so close to 100 goals, ready to fight tooth and nail for every minute.

I’m not arguing from a point of respect for Giroud. I’m arguing from a point of what the Gunners lose if they throw all their eggs in Lacazette’s basket. Even Alexis struggled in his first season (the second half). Mesut Ozil took a year and a half to get settled.

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Giroud is a bonafide Premier League striker. In times of struggle, we can rely on him to at the very least give this attack something to rely on. You give that up and you give up a pillar. It’s not an upgrade, it’s a risky type swap. There is nothing guaranteed about it.

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