Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette and the vulnerable dependency on strikers

In his pre-match press conference before Napoli’s arrival at the Emirates on Thursday night, Alexandre Lacazette stated how it was not worrying that Arsenal depend on him and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for goals. But that statement is false. It is.

Rightly or wrongly, Arsenal decided to break their own transfer record on two centre-forwards in the matter of two successive transfer windows. Not only that, but the two strikers they acquired — Alexandre Lacazette the first, arriving in the 2017 summer for £47 million, and then Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, for £52 million, six months later — were very similar in style.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Season in review; Summer window looms

Speedy, on-the-shoulder, penalty-box goal-poachers, both Aubameyang and Lacazette like to be the furthest forward attacker smashing the ball into the back of the net. While they are capable of other elements of the forward position, their true skill is scoring goals. And they are both masters of it.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

Combining for 54 Premier League goals since the start of the 2017/18 season, Lacazette and Aubameyang have very quickly established themselves as one of the most prolific strike partnerships in the world.

But their scoring rate has also come at the expense of other players in the Arsenal team. Only one other player has more than five league goals this season, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, with six. Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United all have three players that have scored nine or more.

This week, Lacazette was asked whether he feels his teammates should provide to the goalscoring demands of the team. He was unequivocal in his answer:

"“No [I don’t feel like they do]. If we score a lot of goals, it’s because our team-mates put us in these positions and give us good balls to score. If they give us these good balls to score, then I’m OK.”"

The problem with what Lacazette said, however, is that it is not true. He may say that he is happy with his teammates not contributing more goals, but it is a problem that Arsenal must try and solve this summer. They have a whole lot of resources poured into the striker position — and a very specific version of the striker position — and that causes issues elsewhere.

Lacazette speaks about the service that he and Aubameyang receive: ‘If they give us good balls to score, then I’m OK.’ But of the top-five assist makers in the league this season, two are defenders, one of which is done for the season, one is leaving to Juventus for nothing, and the other two are Lacazette and Aubameyang themselves.

So not only is the rest of the Arsenal team unable to score goals on a consistent basis, but they are not really creating a great host of chances either, especially in matches in which they have little control in the central midfield. As Sunday’s loss to Everton and Aubameyang’s February-March slump proved, when the strikers are not provided with the required service, they have little impact on matches.

Lacazette and Aubameyang are the best part of the Arsenal squad. You will not find many arguments against that. But the over-reliance on the striker position is a problem. It makes the rest of the team vulnerable, and it has been proven this season.