Arsenal: Winning Aubameyang half the battle for Lacazette

Alexandre Lacazette is trying to prove to Arsene Wenger that he and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang can play together. Well, in winning over his Arsenal strike partner, he is halfway there.

Alexandre Lacazette returned to Arsenal in good spirits. It seemed as though a two-month layoff after knee surgery had been good to him. He had a smile on his face. He looked sharp. He just seemed more confident, surer of himself, more belief in his ability. He just looked happier.

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Considering the slouched shoulders and sunken spirit that he departed with to undergo the knife, it is quite the turnaround. Unfortunately, though, it will not last long if he cannot force his way back into the Premier League team.

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Good news for Lacazette, then, that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the man who has ostensibly replaced him after a club-record £56 million move in the January transfer window, is quite hoping for the pair to play together. When asked about the prospect by Sky Sports, this is what the Gabonian had to say:

"“I hope we [Lacazette and I] will have the opportunity to play together – it’s something I said when I first arrived that I hoped to play with him. We have different styles, but I think they’re styles that complement each other – he’s a very good player and a very kind person. We were once rivals in our days in France, but we’re now friends and I hope we can play well together and score lots of goals.”"

Arsene Wenger has also stated that he sees the two playing alongside one another, though implied that Aubameyang would be shifted into a wide-left position to accommodate the similarly-moulded pair. Consequently, it was difficult to envisage the two playing together without Aubameyang being happy about shifted out of the central role, something that he has made his own in recent seasons at Borussia Dortmund.

His comments will be most welcome for Lacazette, therefore, who will be desperate to force his way into the starting attack. While the Premier League may have little bearing on this season, everything starts over in August. That is the competition that all players want to be playing in. It is why Olivier Giroud ultimately left. Lacazette will do the same if he has to.

He is of a quality and an age, 27 by the time next season gets going, that should demand regular football. He is in the prime of his career and is deserving of the responsibility that comes with being the starting centre-forward.

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Whether he will ever get it is another question. But Wenger has hinted at it and Aubameyang is happy with it. That, for Lacazette, is half the battle.