Arsenal Vs West Ham: Alexandre Lacazette hammering home

Alexandre Lacazette changed the game when he was introduced at half-time during Arsenal’s 3-1 win over West Ham United. He is now hammering home the point: he should be starting.

The first win of the Unai Emery era. It was a while coming, starting the season with two successive losses to Manchester City and then Chelsea, but Arsenal saw past a dangerous West Ham United on Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 victory.

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But while the win is nice, the performance left a lot to be desired, especially in the first half. The passing was slow and messy, the high defensive line was exposed easily by West Ham’s running off the ball, and Emery’s side were fortunate to be level at half-time.

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Change was needed. Thankfully, if Emery has shown anything in these early matches, it is that he is more than willing to engineer change aggressively, proactively and, oftentimes, correctly. And this was another occasion, introducing Alexandre Lacazette for Alex Iwobi and shifting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out to the left wing. Although there were still some defensive vulnerabilities in the second half, offensively, Arsenal looked far more threatening and benefitted from Lacazette’s presence greatly.

Specifically, the Frenchman provided a strong and stable focal point that Arsenal could build off. Aubameyang may be the better natural goalscorer of the two, but he does not have the same qualities in collecting balls from deep areas, holding off the challenges from defenders, and then bringing others into play, allowing his team to push up the pitch and relieve pressure. Aubameyang often becomes isolated. Lacazette, with his greater strength and lower centre of gravity, does not.

And here, it was plain to see. Take the second goal, for instance. Lacazette managed to shrug off the defender, put his body between the ball and the defender, turned, and delivered a cross towards Aubameyang that deflected into the net for an own goal. The finish may have been scrappy, but it was brilliant play by Lacazette.

This was just one instance in a number where he held off a defender, span into space and instigated an attack by passing the ball to someone else in a better position than him. It was a repeated influence of his presence in the central striker position. It’s more proof that he should be starting, not sat on the bench.

But this is not the first time that Lacazette has showcased his influence on the match. He provided a greater attacking impetus against Manchester City on the opening day of the season. He was Arsenal’s top goalscorer in the preseason. He ended last season in outstanding form playing alongside Aubameyang.

This is just another occasion in which Lacazette is making his case to start. He is now simply hammering home the point. It might be time for Emery to listen.