Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette can help Wenger over tactical hurdle

Arsenal debuted Alexandre Lacazette and naturally, the man scored. From an unnatural position, nonetheless. Time for Wenger to conquer another hurdle.

Arsenal’s preseason opener against Sydney FC was exciting to watch, mainly because of the enthusiastic teenagers that Arsene Wenger employed to run the show for the first 68 or so minutes. When the team change happened, however, there was only one man we wanted to see.

And of course, he wasn’t even playing at striker, but more as a midfield floater. Then again, the massive switch in the 68th minute didn’t really have any sort of fluency, it was just a hodgepodge of whoever was left on the bench.

Still, Alexandre Lacazette made his point and almost justified his usage in a deeper position. He defended well, won the ball back, and showed a great eye for the pass as well, sending Donyell Malen off on a run towards goal.

And then he scored from a late run into the box, put on a silver platter by Alex Iwobi.

All I could think this entire time was in what capacity he and Olivier Giroud are going to be used as a tandem. I think that combined they are far more deadly then apart. Think of the 2016 Euros and how Giroud played forward, attracted all the attention, and was like backboard to clear out space for Antoine Griezmann.

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That exact same thing can happen with Lacazette and Giroud. And we saw it already. With Giroud as the spearhead, the defense has to give him attention and not necessarily hone in on players behind him, which can include Lacazette and his deadly runs into the box.

Lacazette isn’t here to be a winger or a CAM though, and that’s the tactical hurdle I feel can finally be leaped over – playing with two at the front.

Not since Bergkamp and Henry have Arsenal played with two at the front and it’s easy to see why – the personnel hasn’t been there. But even when it was worth exploring (Giroud/Podolski, Lucas/anyone) it never was.

With Lacazette showcasing as a later runner and a creative mind, we may finally have the perfect candidate to slap up front, just off the shoulder of Giroud, to take the rebounds and thrive in the space that the bigger Frenchman creates for his countryman.

Next: 5 Things Learned Against Sydney FC

Wenger has been painfully reluctant to employ this strategy, but given the personnel that this team has, it may finally be time to give it a whack. He flirted with it having them both in the same formation against Sydney FC so surely he’s at least considering it in the back of his mind.

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