Arsenal: The best of Alexandre Lacazette will only get better

Arsenal changed against Stoke City when fired-up Alexandre Lacazette came onto the pitch. And the best part is that it will only get better.

It was all part of the acclimation process. Trading Ligue 1 for the Premier League isn’t the easiest thing to do, as the French top flight is certainly the fifth of the top five leagues. So when Alexandre Lacazette came to Arsenal, we might have expected that it would take time.

In fact, we should have expected it would take time, because of course it was going to.

But in the process of taking time, Lacazette scored just two minutes into his North London career, blowing all expectations out of the water. And he went on to a steady stream of goals before the tailspin began.

And when did it begin? About half way through his first season. When every tailspin seems to begin for new arrivals. The only difference was his tailspin was met with a seeming replacement and a knee injury.

But that in and of itself should also be a point of excitement, believe it or not. As it stands, we have just seen the best of Lacazette. Thierry Henry said similar, claiming that his countryman “changed the game” against Stoke City.

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There is always a growth within a new team. I’ll cite Olivier Giroud. He gradually grew into a premium Premier League striker. But it was a slow grind, left to its own whimsies, because Arsenal didn’t push him.

Lacazette has all the faculties within the club that Giroud didn’t have. He has competition of the highest caliber. He is growing in this team, but growing in a team that has the talent that we haven’t seen from them in over a decade.

And about that injury? We are no strangers to injuries sparking a reset in players. I have never seen a transformation like I saw when Mesut Ozil went down with his serious injury and came back like an absolute monster. He was bigger, stronger, and more equipped to handle the daily toils of life in England.

From that first half hour back from injury, it’s looking like Lacazette’s best is getting even better. And it will continue to get better, because he has resources here that he would never have found at Lyon.

Next: Arsenal vs Stoke City Player Ratings

It’s early in the process still. Not even through the first year. But Lacazette can and will match the level of super-stardom that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is at. You just wait and see.

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