Arsenal: The best of Alexandre Lacazette won’t be found in Europa League

Alexandre Lacazette has said that his best is yet to come at Arsenal, but can he reach that “best” in the Europa League? Absolutely not.

Alexandre Lacazette must have been reading my articles, because four days ago I pointed out that the best of Lacazette will only get better. Now he’s off saying the same thing himself – that Arsenal fans have not yet seen his best.

Whatever the case, it’s nice to have some back-up from the man himself. And it’s one hell of a back-up, because Lacazette couldn’t be more spot on. It is important to remind ourselves that the best of Lacazette is still to come.

However, I have to add in that his best probably won’t be reached in the Europa League. Very few “superstars” are going to hit their absolute best in a second-tier competition. I’m not trying to sound like a snob, because it is certainly a reputable competition, it’s just in the nature of it.

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Right now, Lacazette is just the Europa League guy and the Premier League substitute. That is nowhere near where he wants to be. He came to Arsenal to play in the Champions League, where the best in the world play. He came to play in the Premier League.

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the Europa League is a foundation for him to build off of, as it gives him the opportunity to establish himself in a meaningful competition where the stakes are certainly high enough to get him acclimated.

But if we really want to see the best that Lacazette can be, Arsenal are going to have to actually progress. Because as we have seen in the past, we can have as many talented players as we want, but if we aren’t pushing forward, getting deeper into the biggest competitions, then there is very little individual progress either.

So, while the Europa League won’t unlock the best of Lacazette, if he can help us win the Europa League and progress into the Champions League, well, that’s one hell of a step.

The next trick will be finding his footing back in the Premier League, because he has been sputtering on that ground since 2017. But again, is this likely to change before the end of the year? I’d hope so, but given the pertinence of the Europa League, I wouldn’t expect it.

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Lacazette’s best, therefore, likely won’t be all that closer until next year. Which I suppose means he is staying, so there’s that.