Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette production, not position, can replace Alexis Sanchez

Arsenal will have to replace 24 Alexis Sanchez Premier League goals if the Chilean leaves. While Alexandre Lacazette plays a different position, his production will help alleviate the difficulties that Sanchez’s departure causes.

As the Arsenal summer begins to take shape and we start to strap ourselves in for the turbulent onslaught of hope and despair as rumours engulf our thoughts, mysterious airport sightings become the norm and the Sun is treated as Gospel, it is clear that the future of one man is infecting and affecting the plans and premonitions of Arsene Wenger and the club.

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The future of Alexis Sanchez is yet to be decided. The Chilean, having grown in his frustration with life at the Emirates throughout last season, repeatedly delayed contract talks, such that he and his agent hold all the power at the negotiating table with just 12 months remaining on his current deal.

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Ultimately, it will be up to Sanchez and his representatives as to whether he remains in North London. There will certainly be plenty of clubs wanting to secure his services if he does want to depart and Arsenal will be forced into selling because of the danger of losing him for nothing in a year’s time.

What is polluting for the Gunners is the importance of Sanchez. In the Premier League last year, the Chilean scored 24 goals, assisted another 10 and had an influence on the game that far outreached mere statistics. His pace, his trickery and the relentless threat that he provided attracted attention. Simply by being did he create space for those around him.

That is the calibre and importance of player that Wenger must replace. But when such crucial players do depart, replacing the effect that they have does not simply come from plugging in a similar player in the same position. It is the production, not the position that must be replicated.

That is where Alexandre Lacazette enters the fray. Of the big-name signings that have been linked to Arsenal so far this summer, it is the Lyon striker that seems the most likely. Recent reports suggest there is a growing confidence that a deal can be completed, suggesting that Wenger has found the striker that he has been searching for, for so long.

However, while Lacazette is a striker, it is Sanchez who he will be tasked with replacing. That does not mean that, if he were to sign, he would be shifted out wide. But that the goals he brings fill the gaping hole that Sanchez’s exit vacates.

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Direct involvement in 34 league goals is very difficult to find. There are few players that have the quality and the consistency to be able to score and create such quantities. However, Lacazette has the finishing ability, the pedigree and the reputation to suggest that he can, even though he will feature in a different role.