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Arsenal: Well, Alexandre Lacazette will be staying then
By Josh Sippie
Alexandre Lacazette’s struggle-ridden first year with Arsenal was given a unique chance to start over. He clearly took that chance. Game on.
Alexandre Lacazette was given a unique opportunity when Arsene Wenger came out and pinned the striker’s struggles on his newfound knee injury. The floundering Arsenal man was given a new lease on life to come back and truly start things over. Not many people get that chance.
What had started out so promising changed drastically with a knee injury and a new signing. Lacazette had already been struggling to score, but the struggle got even worse – and more out of his control – with the new onslaught of issues.
His first appearance back from his knee surgery was going to be massively telling. It was going to tell us if he was mentally disconnected; checking out early from the season and hoping to get a move somewhere else; or if he was going to fight for it, try to find his scoring boots, and figure out his Arsenal career.
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I do believe it couldn’t have been more conclusive. There was not a reluctant bone in his body as the Frenchman looked brand new, twisting and turning, showcasing his superb footwork and his aptitude for doing so much more than just taking chances.
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It may have been the best he ever looked. He was as enthusiastic as he was when he first joined the Gunners but he was more fine-tuned, like someone who understood what the Premier League was all about now.
To me – and I specify ‘to me’ because this may sound a bit over-the-top – that was all I needed to see to convince myself that he would not be sold in the summer. I recognize that he is a fighter regardless, and even if he was pushing for a move, he might have played with the same enthusiasm, but it was more than that.
This was a man who was playing for the shirt, because the shirt has very little to offer for the duration of the season. As such, it was an investment in his future.
Seeing his newfound rival Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang give him the final penalty, with the Gabonese striker on a hat trick, that put it all over the top. Lacazette still has a lot to do with this club and this club still has a lot to do with him.
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Incinerate the doubts. Lacazette is staying a Gunner.