Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette treatment maddeningly archaic

Arsene Wenger has always annoyingly clung to ineffective practices at times, but his treatment of Alexandre Lacazette is archaic and backwards for Arsenal.

Arsenal signed Alexandre Lacazette for a reason. They signed him to be the solution to the striker crisis we have had for half a decade, where Olivier Giroud was our one and only option.

Lacazette hasn’t had the best time since his arrival, but he hasn’t bee terrible Four goals in seven starts, all of which have come at home. Like I said, solid, but there is obviously plenty of room for improvement.

But that’s hard to do when you have a manager that is determined to over-shelter you and make sure that you are never, ever, ever tested.

Lacazette has yet to play the full 90 minutes of any match and Wenger has noted that this is because the Frenchman is still acclimating to life in England. Which is getting pretty old, especially in matches where he looks the biggest threat, yet is taken off because… well, because it’s just that time.

It’s becoming a habit that is hanging around just because it’s something that we do. It doesn’t make sense from a tactical standpoint.

Take the loss against Watford, for instance. Arsenal was up 1-0 when the switch was made to bring on Giroud for Lacazette. But despite that lead, the momentum of the game was switching – or rather had switched – in Watford’s favor.

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But that won’t stop Wenger from doing the exact same thing every time, no matter the situation.

The Gunners needed to stay on the attack, and it was clear that Wenger knew that because he put on Olivier Giroud, another forward. It was a like for like switch that probably just comes down to Wenger’s desire to give Giroud his fair chance.

But as has been the case in literally every single other situation just like this one, the game was not built for Giroud, nor has any other one been. By taking off Lacazette, you remove a dual-threat creator who can control the ball and push forward and you replace him with a target man.

Yet, the later Arsenal get into matches, the less need they have for a target man because they are being forced to defend more and get forward less and when they do, it’s generally quick, sharp attacks that would benefit from someone like Lacazette, not Giroud.

When you are in need of a goal, or just keeping up the pressure, a switch like this does nothing. Lacazette is our best threat to score on the pitch and to remove him is to put the game in the hands of players that might not be able to strike back, if needed.

Why Wenger has so stubbornly refused to simply leaving Lacazette out there alongside Giroud is beyond me and, quite honestly, one of the many frustrating things I can’t seem to figure out about this season.

Next: Arsenal vs Watford Player Ratings

All I know is that despite how many changes Wenger has made that he certainly deserves credit for, he continues to mix in some of his age-old, undying habits that benefit no one.

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