Arsenal: It worked for Dennis Bergkamp, it can work for Alexandre Lacazette

Arsenal are toying with changing Alexnadre Lacazette’s role with the club, which isn’t the worst idea ever, seeing as how it worked for Dennis Bergkamp.

Arsenal tried something different against Fiorentina. They tried playing Alexandre Lacazette in a No. 10 role, or a false No. 9 role, and the results were pretty damn stunning. With so much natural ability, Lacazette was able to create freely, leading directly to one goal, and in the process, he showed us the potential for something special.

Lacazette lead the team with eight assists last year. That was two more than Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan combined. So it’s understandable why the consideration at a new role was warranted.

Some may not want to hinder Lacazette’s goal-scoring ability by moving him deeper into the formation, but in answer to that, we don’t need to look long into the past.

Dennis Bergkamp came to the Gunners as a main striker, but struggled to handle that role, scoring just 11 goals in his first 33 appearances with the club.

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It wasn’t until Arsene Wenger moved him into that false No. 9 role that he truly thrived and became the legend we all know and love today. It was a dynamic shift that put faith in his incredible first touch and his footballing mind to make a difference in that way, rather than relying on straight goals.

Lacazette scored a lot of goals in France, but since coming to the Emirates, he’s never been that guy. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has. Yet Lacazette continues to rank as the best player on the team for all the other faculties he provides. Faculties that could be put to better use if he is given a deeper, centralized role on the shoulder of Aubameyang like Bergkamp was in his day, particularly when he played on the shoulder of Thierry Henry.

This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about this either. It’s impossible not to see the correlation, given the skillsets of our two strikers. But last year made it clear that Lacaette has that ability to follow up on the Bergkamp role, and the fact that Unai Emery is finally experimenting with it gives me hope that maybe we have that set-up to look forward to this coming season.

And don’t worry. It won’t hurt Lacazette’s ability to score, just like it really didn’t hurt Bergkamp’s either. World class talent always find a way to get the ball in the net.