Arsenal: Garth Crooks forgets one very important face

In Garth Crooks Team of the Week piece, he questioned whether Arsenal had genuine finishers. Did he forget about one Alexandre Lacazette?

Danny Welbeck, for all his effort and his energy, is far from a clinical finisher. It is difficult to understand why. He is a smart and intelligent player, recognising the type of finish that is needed for the given situation. He is technically sound, with a good first touch and neat interplay, implying that he at least knows how to kick a ball properly. And he gets plenty of opportunities to try his luck.

But for whatever reason, Welbeck has never been, is not, and never will be a prolific goal scorer. He just isn’t that type of player.

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On Saturday, against Bournemouth, he proved as much. Although his two goals may suggest otherwise, with the second one being an especially well-worked, sliding finish into the bottom corner from a tight angle, the first was a scruffy header that diverted past Asmir Begovic only thanks to a flick off his own shoulder after a scruffy contact. He also attempted a delicate chip in the hope of a hat-trick, but misjudged it slightly, seeing it slip by the far post.

Every week, Garth Crooks produces a ‘Team of the Week’ piece. It is not particularly revolutionary but does sometimes have some interesting titbits of information in there. The titbit this week was his assessment of Welbeck and Arsenal’s striking options. When discussing Welbeck, Crooks questioned whether he was a clinical finisher, before stating that Arsenal would not be able to compete because they lack a genuine goal scorer:

"“The number of times I have seen Welbeck score goals that aren’t clean connections makes me wonder, is he what you would call ‘a genuine finisher’ in the same way you would categorise other Arsenal forwards like Ian Wright, Dennis Bergkamp or Thierry Henry? Arsenal might have brushed aside Bournemouth but until the Gunners have genuine finishers in the team they can forget about Premier League titles.”"

I can only assume that Crooks has completely forgotten about Alexandre Lacazette. While Romelu Lukaku and Alvaro Morata may be grabbing the headlines for their striking endeavours so far this season, Lacazette, in a far quieter and unassuming manner, is establishing himself as one of the most lethal finishers in the Premier League.

He has had just three shots on target this year; he has scored twice. His finish against Bournemouth was an example of his sharp shooting, precisely placed into the top corner, exploiting the poor positioning of Begovic. But as soon as the ball broke from Mesut Ozil’s piercing pass to Welbeck, Lacazette had just one thought: one touch and shoot. It was surgical with no moment of doubt or err.

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Lacazette may not yet garner the headlines of other strikers around the league. But that does not mean that he has not impressed early on. Crooks may have forgotten about him but the Arsenal fans have most certainly not.

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