Arsenal: Steve Bould’s idea for a new No. 10 is oddly familiar

Arsenal have a massive supply of No. 10’s, but Steve Bould is of the opinion that there is room for another – Alexandre Lacazette. But it’s not that crazy.

Arsenal’s situation at the No. 10 position is in such a state that they have narrowed their attack to accommodate having anywhere between two and five of those types of midfielders on the pitch at all times. It makes for a lot of excitement, but a bit of a cluster as well.

And now, there is a new idea, sprouting from an unlikely source.

Steve Bould has spoken (which I didn’t know was allowed) and he has some interesting ideas about who in the team can play this same role. Now, granted, he didn’t actually say that this man should play at No. 10, he just said he was capable of it.

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Before I get too far ahead of myself, here are his words (via the Standard):

"He’s actually a very, very, very good football player. He could play at number 10 – he’s really good. He’s not just a goalscorer, he’s not an out-and-out striker, he can play."

Who was he referring to? Alexandre Lacazette.

Now, Before you roll your eyes and move on with life, wondering why Steve Bould bothered to say anything in the first place, keep in mind that on just about every occasion when Arsenal does line up on the pitch, they rarely ever have a set No. 10. It’s a fluent roll. People go in and out of it.

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Which is why I’m not thinking of what Bould said as a new idea for the Lacazette problem, but a solution that we all know by a different name – the false No. 9.

The Invisible Era was dominated by this false No. 9, who went by the name of Dennis Bergkamp. He hovered in the ground between where a No. 10 would play and where a striker would play and he’d do everything the two roles required – he’d create, dribble, score, whatever you needed.

Bould is right. Lacazette does all those things. His passing and soft touches are fantastic, but he is a clinical finisher as well. He’s the type of player that would thrive in this Bergkamp-esque role that Wenger has avoided revisiting.

Placing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a forward role and Alexandre Lacazette in behind him, like so many have been asking for, opens up a world of possibilities that in no way hurt the team on the defensive side. All you’d have to do is swap out one of the three attacking midfielders for Lacazette and let him play centrally. He always hangs out on the outside of the 18-yard box anyway.

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Lacazette as a No. 10 sounds stupid on the surface, but when you actually look at it, it makes a lot of sense. Just don’t call it a No. 10, call it a false No. 9.