Arsenal: In defence of Danny Welbeck as Alexandre Lacazette returns

Alexandre Lacazette is set to return to the Arsenal squad after the international break. It is presumed that he will assume Danny Welbeck’s role in the Europa League. Here’s a defence of the lanky but effective English international.

The most important competition of the season for Arsenal is now the Europa League. After the Carabao Cup final loss, the disastrous third-round exit in the FA Cup, and their slipping to a 13-point deficit to the top four in the Premier League, there is not much else to play for other than Europe’s little sister.

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That means that Alexandre Lacazette’s return from a short-term layoff after undergoing minor knee surgery earlier in the year after the international break is extremely significant. As James McNicholas details in this piece, the Gunners’ Europa League hopes are very much pinned on the Frenchman with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang cup-tied.

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However, the man that he would be usurping, Danny Welbeck, performed admirably in the two legs against AC Milan, showing a tireless work ethic in the first leg to spearhead the line away from home before being rewarded for his efforts with two goals in the return fixture. It raises the question of whether Lacazette deserves to start ahead of Welbeck when he returns. Could there be a defence for the gangling centre-forward or does he merit immediate resignation to the bench?

Well, I think Welbeck’s only case — he is a worse player in terms of natural skill, his touch isn’t as consistent, his goal-scoring record is significantly worse, his movement isn’t as sharp, he isn’t as creative on the ball — may centre on the style of football that Arsenal are likely to play in the Europa League, especially away from home.

For instance, in Milan in the first leg, they had just 48.8% possession. That may not seem like a massive minority — it is only 1.2% less than exactly half –, but this is a team that has averaged 58.4% possession in the Premier League this season, almost 10% more. They are used to having a lot of the ball.

That is the style that better suits Lacazette. He likes to have players near him that can provide him with accurate, creative, sliding service into the spaces that he can sharply seek out and exploit in and around the penalty area.

He does not have the frame to occupy centre-halves from lofted clearances that come from deep in the Arsenal half, he lacks the annoyance-factor of Welbeck as he tries to provide a focal point for the attack, often finding himself isolated and separated from the rest of the team, and he also lacks the long-speed to spin into the channels and drive towards the goal from further out. The counter-attacking style is much better suited to Welbeck than it is Lacazette.

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Now, is that enough to suggest that Welbeck should hang onto his job as the starting centre-forward? Well, no, not really. But if he were to play, say, against Atletico Madrid in Madrid in the semi-finals, would I be all that disappointed? Probably not. Wenger has two good and different options to choose from. That is perhaps the most important thing to note here.