Arsenal vs Napoli: Is it too much to ask Alexandre Lacazette for perfection?

Arsenal will be primarily focused on defending their 2-0 lead against Napoli, but a goal would make that a lot easier. So… what’s up, Alexandre Lacazette?

Arsenal sandwiched a beautiful 2-0 home win over Napoli in between two nasty, ugly away matches, so you could be forgiven for worrying a great deal about traveling to Napoli and seeing what could happen in a third away match when the previous two were so… meh.

But with that 2-0 lead, the task it significantly easier. Or at least, it should be, if done correctly. Obviously, though, you can’t just go into your shell and hope to cling to that deficit. It will never work. The Gunners defense, even with Laurent Koscielny and Sokratis, is not strong enough for that kind of game plan.

There is going to have to be some sort of offensive push, but even saying it, you have to keep in mind that the primary focus will be defending that lead, and whatever counter attack we can muster will be a welcome addition.

That said, there will be chances created on the counter, and there will be opportunities that come in, probably from both wide angles and from down the center of the pitch.

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It’s perfectly reasonable to think that those chances will be fewer than a home match, meaning that there will need to be greater precision from whoever is starting up top. And given a recent proceedings, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang playing the full 90 against Watford and Alexandre Lacazette not touching the pitch, it’s likely that the latter will get the nod in this one.

Which is for the better. Between Aubameyang and Lacazette, it’s Lacazette who has the better precision in front of goal.

That said, it’s also Lacazette who is lower in the confidence thank than Aubameyang, but that could, and hopefully will, play into Lacazette’s favor. I often use the term “winding a player up” and sitting Lacazette against Watford will have done the job.

But again, chances will be limited, so what we’re asking from Lacazette is pretty simple – as close to perfect as can be. A single missed chance can be a massive, massive difference in this one.

Of course, he can make this all a hell of a lot easier on himself by scoring early, preferably on the first chance of the game, and alleviating all pressure on himself and the team (and the fans). But maybe it’s too much to ask for perfection.