Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette goal drought creating new avenues

Arsene Wenger has frustrated many with his treatment of Alexandre Lacazette, but Arsenal’s top scorer is currently in a drought that defies everything.

Arsenal brought in Alexandre Lacazette to be the fix-all to the front of their formation. It started really well, but the developing trend was clear as day. The more he was substituted for no good reason, the more frustrated he got.

The French striker was never pleased when he was taken off in the 60th, 70th or, on a good day, 80th minute. He would sulk, mope, and once even tossed his gloves when he was in front of Le Prof.

Now, Lacazette finds himself in a goal drought. He hasn’t scored in a month. Naturally, this month was the toughest month of the season for the club in general, as they were playing matches every three days. It’s been 455 minutes since his last goal, and there are plenty of hypotheses why this may be happening.

Some may say that it’s just a product of coming to a new league and not gelling with his team mates yet. It’s safe to say that the expectations were set pretty high when he scored just two minutes into his Premier League career.

Some may say that it’s all Arsene Wenger’s fault. In his attempt to “protect” Lacazette from this new, difficult league, he may have forced the French striker into a wad of frustration, the likes of which he is just now feeling the effects of. Maybe he feels pressured to score early on because he doesn’t know how long he may have on any given match day.

Perhaps Premier League defenses are figuring him out. Perhaps his finishing is letting him down. Or, maybe, it’s all of these things combined.

The numbers aren’t flattering in the drought. In the seven matches since he has last scored a goal, Lacazette has managed just four shots on target. We have seen some questionable attempts on goal in that time, betraying what we thought was his undeniable strength – not squandering premium opportunities.

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However, in that time, Arsenal have also seen Lacazette showcasing how he is more than just a finisher. In this drought, he has managed two assists to bolster his season tally to three, and he has created seven chances.

So while zero goals and four shots on target in seven matches is hardly flattering, seven chances created and two assists is a solid consolation prize. One instance in particular comes to mind when he willfully passed up a superb opportunity at goal to let Alexis Sanchez have a crack. It turned into an assist.

You may call it a lack of confidence on net, which happens to everyone, but given the talents of Lacazette, that lack of confidence is being converted into chances in another form. The problem there, though, is that he is here to put away those chances, not necessarily create them.

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It’s something to monitor. While most strikers take their drought and keep pelting away at goal, Lacazette is spending his drought creating chances for others. Hard not to like that.

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