Arsenal: Translating international to domestic form igniting

Both Alex Iwobi and Alexandre Lacazette scored twice against top quality opposition for their respective national teams. Arsenal need to translate that form.

Arsenal are in need of a reinvigoration. Their season, while not especially disappointing — although they lie 12 points behind league-leaders Manchester City, they are only four points behind Manchester United, who are in second — still seems a little lacking. There is no spark, no energy, no instigation.

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And it is not easy to suggest why.

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Perhaps the distractions off the field, including the future of Arsene Wenger, the unrest at the AGM between Sir Chips Keswick, Stan Kroenke and the fans, and the uncertainty that reigns over Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, as they continue to play under a contract that expires at the end of the season, have not helped. Perhaps it is poor implementation of tactics. Perhaps it is the system that Wenger is playing. Perhaps it is a sheer lack of quality. Whatever it is, there is something missing from this Arsenal team and season.

However, during the third international break of the season, there have been signs that, individually, players are beginning to round into form. Take Tuesday night, for example. Alex Iwobi scored two wonderful goals in Nigeria’s 4-2 win over Argentina, Alexandre Lacazette scored twice against Germany, in a pulsatingly exciting and entertaining friendly, while Mesut Ozil assisted Timo Werner with a typically precise and probing through ball for Germany’s first goal of the 2-2 draw.

Lacazette looked especially sharp throughout the 76 minutes he was on the pitch. He very nearly opened the scoring early on, after skipping past Mats Hummels with a lovely shimmy and dart and firing a shot towards the near post, that was tipped wide by Steven Madanda. And his overall link-up play, with limited service, was invaluable to the pacy breaks that France could counter Germany’s suffocating possession with.

Similarly, Wenger has been asking of Iwobi to improve his end product, with respect to the goals that he scores, the chances that he creates, and the assists that he amasses. And that is exactly what he did for Nigeria. His second goal was a particularly nice move, shifting the ball through the legs of Javier Mascherano, collecting it on the other side, and planting a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.

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This international success is what, perhaps, could reignite Arsenal’s season. If Wenger can translate his players’ joy for their countries into form for their club, then the catalyst that he has been searching for could be right in front of him. With a North London derby on the horizon, what better way to make a statement.