Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette can be utilized even better

Arsenal finally deployed Alexandre Lacazette in another big game and, surprise surprise, it worked very well. But it can get even better with his utilization.

Arsene Wenger found it prudent not to start Arsenal’s all-time record signing Alexandre Lacazette against Manchester City. Instead, he employed a bit-part attack that was in no way up to the task. When Lacazette came on, he scored and changed the momentum of the game.

It was a shocking decision because he had made the same decision against Liverpool to an even more disastrous effect – 4-0, the worst loss of the season and one that really put everything into a whole new lens.

While that should have been the end of it, it wasn’t, but the point is, he started in the North London Derby at home and he thrived. He provided the crucial second assist and was generally useful throughout the match, despite not scoring.

He far outdid his counterpart, Harry Kane, on the other end, who could find no space whatsoever. Lacazette lived up to the billing and the pressure of the match and proved what he knew all along – that he should be starting at all times, no matter what.

Playing him up front with Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil clearly brings out the best in him and that should be the goal from here on out. That is now just two games where the trifecta of brilliance has been out there, and combined, at Everton and at home in the North London Derby, they have produced seven goals.

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But even with him being used the way he should be used, as in, not off the bench, there are still steps to go when it comes to utilizing him 100% properly. And I’m not just talking about the whole “why can’t he ever play to the final whistle” bit. Although that certainly factors into it.

When the time comes for Olivier Giroud to come on, I don’t see why Lacazette can’t be either used in tandem or used as a central attacking midfielder. This isn’t just a matter of keeping him on for 90 minutes, it’s a matter of making him even better.

It’s nice and all that he is combining well with these two other superstars, but with their impending exits, it’s never too early to start looking for other ways to get the best out of him, and late in matches, when the subs come on, is a great chance to start feeling around. Maybe, just maybe, playing him in tandem with Giroud will make him even better.

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We can celebrate all we want that we know how to make Lacazette the best we have seen him, but there may be even better

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