Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette prediction wets the palate

Arsenal’s main draw is their attack, and Alexandre Lacazette isn’t even the focal point. So if he can score 20, as suggested, then watch out.

The Arsenal hype train left the station awhile ago and has only picked up momentum throughout the summer. Between the appointment of Unai Emery and his no-nonsense, hard-nosed determination, and the signings that have been made, there is reason to be optimistic.

But one thing that Unai Emery said early on keeps coming back around full circle. Rather than focus on all the changes he was going to make, Emery said that he wanted to maximize all the talent that was already here.

Alexandre Lacazette is one of those talents. Yet what makes him so special is that he is not even the premier talent of the attack. We saw the good and the bad of the French striker last year, which, ideally, means that he is over the hump the hard way, and ready to take on a more consistent role.

Meaning that this coming year should be a clear improvement over last year. Last year he, of course, scored 14 goals and led the team in that department, but he wasn’t the ice-cold striker all season long.

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Now though, Robert Pires has offered up a prediction – that Lacazette will score 20 goals this coming season.

20 goals is an exciting, if not almost expected number. Of course Lacazette should score 20 goals, that’s what he is here to do right? We should expect him to score that many, being the tip of the attacking spear.

Taken in individuality, it’s not that remarkable. But when you step back and look at this big picture, those 20 goals are merely wetting the palate of a ridiculously powerful attack.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is expected to compete for the Golden Boot, meaning that 30 goals may be on the cards for him, if not more. That already accounts for 50+ goals within the team, just from their focal points alone.

Start factoring into the goals from attacking midfielders and suddenly you’re already banking on 75 goals at a minimum. That is a lofty goal tally, but one that would be shocking not to hit. And this doesn’t even include what Aaron Ramsey can potentially bring, as well as the odd goals from defenders.

I’m not going to throw any numbers out there in terms of how many goals this team can score. But if you start with the baseline of Lacazette’s 20, then you can’t help but see some pretty sparkly numbers for a season’s worth of action.