Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette not yet the capstone

Arsenal has been attempting to put together the perfect team for years, but even with Alexandre Lacazette, they aren’t quite there yet.

Arsene Wenger predicted his Invincible season (albeit a year too soon). Since that time, he has been trying to reassemble the perfect Arsenal team piece by piece. Rather than buying just anyone, he made sure, often annoyingly so, that the player he signed would be the perfect player.

Not just a good player, but the perfect one. This led to Wenger avoiding the striker position for years, leaving it to whoever he already had, or a slick pick up or two. But never that conclusive big-time striker.

That’s what Alexandre Lacazette would be, plain and simple. He is a goal scorer with a powerful touch, technical genius and a finesse touch. A quintessential striker that can be that missing piece.

So much so that, not all that long ago, you may have read me write something along the line of Lacazette being the final piece. I believed that conclusively. With all the parts that the Gunners had accumulated over the years, they didn’t have any more great needs with the arrival of the French striker.

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Things have changed though. I’m no longer considering Lacazette the capstone. Even in the event that Alexis stays, I can’t say in full confidence that everything is covered. Technically, it is, but one of the great things about the Invincibles is that they had incredible depth. I mean, what kind of team doesn’t regularly start Kanu?

Alexis and Mesut Ozil are set in stone in the starting XI, but with a variable future, and with the inevitable wear and tear, you need someone there to back them up and it’s clear that the Gunners understand that. Which is another reason why I don’t think Lacazette is the capstone yet.

Clearly Wenger sees a need, lest he wouldn’t be snapping at the heels of Thomas Lemar. And in the process of doing so, he has reminded everyone that it has been a fine line with that attacking midfield two. One misstep by Ozil or Alexis and we have to rely on Alex Iwobi who, while promising, is certainly not reliable.

Next: Arsenal's Potential 2017/18 Starting XI Without Ozil, Alexis

Lacazette’s arrival should open more possibilities, and if the Gunners can launch a bid for Lemar that isn’t ‘surprisingly’ low, maybe then we can start talking about how this team has no more needs, and is ready for some serious silverware.

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