Arsenal vs AC Milan: The gatekeeper to Alexandre Lacazette’s return

Alexandre Lacazette looked to be fidgeting in his new digs at Arsenal, but with his return eminent, only one step stands between him and redemption.

Alexandre Lacazette was realistically supposed to solve all of Arsenal’s striking rows for the rest of time. We had been after him for three years and finally, he was ours, and he got off to a great start, scoring in the second minute of his Premier League debut.

Fast forward six months and he has seemingly been replaced, gone months without a scoring streak, and has undergone surgery on his knee. It’s been ages since he looked happy in Arsenal attire, but then the pictures of him in training came out, along with the news that he would be ready after the international break. 

The Europa League looked like it was going to be Lacazette’s shot at redeeming his stalling North London career, and for the life of me, I thought that his absence would hurt far worse than it did, though I shouldn’t speak to soon.

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The point is that the club itself is hitting some good form as they enter the latest international break and, when they return, they will have new confidence and new form to share with Lacazette as he tries to get back into the flow of his new home, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and all.

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The only thing standing in the way is this return leg against AC Milan. All the Gunners have to do is protect a 2-0 lead and they will be in the clear, headed onto the next round where Lacazette can serve as the lead man and pump home the goals all the way to a European trophy.

It will be great and grand and all we have to do is not screw the pooch.

I don’t want to explore the possibility of it going awry, suffice to say I don’t see how both Lacazette and Aubameyang remain content having to share minutes in an inconsequential competition. It’s literally an impossible task and if you try to split time evenly, they both come out upset and shorted.

Which is why the Europa League has even more importance than just proving a meaningful competition. It gives Lacazette something to latch onto and make his own. His only competitor is Danny Welbeck which, let me just say, if Lacazette has to “earn” his spot back from Welbeck, I’ll be livid.

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But I digress. Let’s just get the job done so Lacazette can get his career back on track.