Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette offers tantalising glimpse

Alexandre Lacazette opened his Arsenal account on Thursday, with a delightful, flicked finish, offering a tantalising glimpse at what might be to come.

Arsenal opened their preseason tour of Australia on Thursday with a comfortable 2-0 win over Sydney FCC. It was, as is ever the case with early July matches, played at a rather lethargic pace, lacking in intensity and conviction, with Sydney especially poor in possession, allowing their visitors to press high up the pitch, shrinking the space and suffocating the life of the match.

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The first goal came through an inventive Per Mertesacker finish after Mesut Ozil’s inswinging corner was poorly cleared. However, it took nearly the whole 90 minutes for the Gunners to again find the net. The second goal, though, was far more significant than the first.

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That is because of the man who scored it. When Arsene Wenger shelled out £52 million to secure the services of Alexandre Lacazette, it was goals like Thursday’s that he had in mind. With Alex Iwobi enjoying time and space down the left flank, Lacazette ghosted into the box, unattended and unnoticed, finding space on the edge of the six-yard box, calmly flicking a first-time shot past the helpless keeper.

It was an excellent finish. He used the pace of the cross to provide the power needed for the shot, and simply redirected the ball. A younger, less experienced player may have panicked, lashing out, thinking power, rather precision, was the way to goal. But Lacazette showcased the one trait that Wenger valued above all others: his finishing.

The Frenchman is a deadly centre-forward. While many may critique his apparently inflated goalscoring rate because of a high number of penalties, what cannot be doubted is that, when offered the chance, he rarely turns it down.

Lacazette had a 33.3% chance conversion rate — it is a very flawed stat which does not give a fully accurate depiction of a striker’s finishing but can be used to compliment what is seen on film. No other striker who scored more than 20 goals in Europe’s top five leagues can better that figure.

It is a testament to the combination of his mental capacity and technical skill. For his goal against Sydney, the chance arose because of the reading of the situation, the understanding of where the space was, and the decision to exploit it, and the chance was converted because of the technique and skill in executing the flicked, redirecting finish.

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It is just one goal in a pre-season friendly against far lesser competition than what the Premier League will offer. However, Lacazette offered a glimpse of what Wenger paid for. It has been painfully absent from the Arsenal squad for many years and it induces a rather giddy excitement for the season ahead.