Arsenal: £52 million Alexandre Lacazette signals change and evolution

Alexandre Lacazette is arriving in North London for a medical ahead of his proposed £52-million move. His signing signals a change and evolution at Arsenal, both in how Arsene Wenger undergoes his transfer business and the tactics that he employs.

Alexandre Lacazette is seemingly set to sign for Arsenal. The Lyon striker has arrived in North London for a medical, ahead of completing a £52-million move. It is an extremely exciting move that is the type of high-profile signing that fans have been pining for. But there is much more to this addition than meets the surface.

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To provide a little context for the impending signing of Lacazette, we must travel back to last summer. In very similar circumstances, Arsene Wenger was searching for a replacement for Olivier Giroud. But it is not a simple like for like replacement that Wenger is wanting to find.

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In his quest to find an alternative striking option, Wenger was looking for a very particular type of player: a pacy, dynamic, direct centre-forward who can run the channels, stretch defences with their quickness and sharpness, and create space for the plethora of creative, ingenious attacking midfielders behind them as a result.

That is most definitely not the player that Giroud is. That is not to say that he is a bad player. He has a unique set of skills that few others in European football can replicate. His strength and size cause problems for opposing defences, while he boasts an excellent first touch with great awareness, meaning he is the perfect focal point with his back to goal, excelling in the neat interplay that Wenger demands of his teams.

Lacazette arriving is a sign that Wenger is wanting to alter his tactics.

There is a change and an evolution coming to the Arsenal. But there is more than just an alteration on the pitch that the addition of Lacazette eludes to.

His signing is also very different to that of the usual Arsenal transfer dealings. He will break the club’s record fee for a player, he is a big-name, high-profile star who has been pursued by several other sides, and will be added to the squad early in the window, showing a conviction and intention in the transfer window that is usually criticised for being so painfully absent.

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The transfer is an exciting one, one that brings an element of optimism and hopefulness to the future. But it is also one that signals a changing of the times at the Emirates, and that is perhaps the most promising element of all.