Arsenal: Relentless Unai Emery perfect for Alexandre Lacazette and others

Unai Emery has stated that there is still another level for Alexandre Lacazette to find. His relentless nature, with Lacazette and other Arsenal players, is perfect.

Alexandre Lacazette might well have been Arsenal’s best player this season thus far. But he did not even begin the year as a starter. Lacazette sat on the bench for the first three Premier League contests, introduced in the second half, or at half-time, in each of them. Unai Emery preferred Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

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But since being able to force his way into the starting XI, the Frenchman hasn’t looked back once. Scoring four league goals on the year, as well as providing an invaluable physical presence with his back to the goal, Lacazette has shown precisely why he has been considered one of the best centre-forwards in Europe for some time.

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For Unai Emery, though, there is still more to be found. Speaking prior to Arsenal’s Monday night match against Leicester City, Emery said:

"“This year we are looking at him [Lacazette] to go one step more in this level. We are very happy but my message to him is: every day, don’t stop. Don’t stop in training, don’t stop in matches, carry on to find his best performance.”"

Such comments almost seem harsh. Lacazette, surely, has been performing at a level that is deserving of praise, not demanding that he does not stop, that he continues to find ‘one step more’. It is a relentless pursuit of perfection.

When I read these comments, they reminded me of another press conference comment from Emery. When asked about the buoyant feeling around the club, Emery was keen to highlight that he and his player can still improve:

"“We need to improve because, for example, the match against Fulham was a very good result and a very good game for 90 minutes, but in the first 45 minutes, I thought we needed to do better.”"

I agree with Emery on both counts. Lacazette still has another level to find — he is not quite the same calibre of centre-forward as a Harry Kane or Sergio Aguero. And Arsenal have not played as well as their results would suggest they have. As Emery highlights, even the 5-1 win over Fulham had plenty of worrying moments in the first half.

This relentless attitude is what great teams and coaches have. Without hesitation, they incessantly search for weaknesses to address, for processes to amend, for improvements to be made and results to be had. Even in Lacazette, the best player of the season, Emery has seen elements that can be fine-tuned and polished.

This is a winner’s attitude. And it is absolutely perfect.