Arsenal: Thomas Lemar must look at Granit Xhaka, not Alexandre Lacazette

Arsenal narrowly missed out on Thomas Lemar this past summer, but even with Barcelona also in on the guy, all he has to do is look at Granit Xhaka.

Arsenal’s near move for Thomas Lemar left many supporters awfully frustrated, given that Arsene Wenger had pursued the guy all summer long yet was never able to tie him down. Meanwhile, we maintained Alexis Sanchez, who didn’t want to be here.

Onward and upward, Lemar is still going to move and the Gunners still want him. However, it is being reported that both Liverpool and Barcelona will be in on the French rising star. Which is naturally a bit nervy for Gooners around the world, but there is one key question that Lemar needs to ask himself – what is best for him?

Generally speaking, more playing time – more guaranteed playing time – is what any player would logically want. If that’s on a top-tier club, even better. And yes, Arsenal are still a top-tier club.

So how does Lemar judge where he can get the most guaranteed? That’s pretty simple. At Barcelona, they have a front three in place. Lemar would have to work his way in, something that frustrated Alexis to the point of leaving.

He could choose Liverpool, but what has Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain figured out? Nothing is guaranteed.

At Arsenal, that’s all different, but you have to stop and think about it.

Lemar would be coming into a team that would be losing Alexis and the very least and potentially Mesut Ozil too. There is no incumbent sitting there waiting to take their jobs. There is a mess of potential candidates, nothing guaranteed. And most of those guys have had chances and will continue to have chances to prove themselves.

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Assuming nothing changes, only Jack Wilshere and potentially Aaron Ramsey, assuming a position change, would be ready to step in. The rest would be Lemar. He would be the guy. The last time Arsenal made a signing for someone who became the guy, it was Granit Xhaka.

The Swiss midfielder was the solution to a midfield void that had been there for far too long. Since he arrived, he has had to get himself suspended in order to be dropped.

The reason why I tell Lemar (as if he is presently reading. Hello, Thomas) to look at Xhaka over countryman Alexandre Lacazette, who, while he has started consistently, has yet to play 90 minutes, is simply because the situation is different.

Lacazette was walking into a one-man job with one of Wenger’s favorites sitting right behind him. He was still the guy, but there were and still are other factors in play.

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Xhaka is the better example. He walked into a two-man job with other names in the mix and has been given every chance in the world to succeed, which he largely has. Lemar can be that exact same guy further up the pitch. And that’s more than either of the so-called competitors can offer.

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