Arsenal: 5 key players to take three points in home opener vs Burnley

2. Alexandre Lacazette

I was pretty close to despondent knowing that Alexandre Lacazette was not going to be available to face Newcastle. He’d picked up that annoying injury in the preseason and lost the race against the clock to be fit in time.

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He almost came on as a sub, but when Aubameyang slotted home, he gave way to Dani Ceballos.

Now, though, in the home opener, the cat’s out of the bag. Lacazette is fit, and that means that he has to start. More importantly, it means that then mantle of attacking responsibility falls squarely on his shoulders, freeing up Aubameyang to go do his thing and allowing whoever is on the right wing, Nelson or Pepe, to have their pick of the litter when it comes to goal scoring options.

Lacazette won our Player of the Season award and he only scored 13 Premier League goals. That should tell you how valuable his other skills are to this club, and it’s also cemented by how often he ranked in our top five key players. The man dictates the tempo of this attack, and at home in the opener, I can’t wait to see what he’s able to put together.

As has been said before, and as will be said again. Even if he doesn’t score, he’s still going to be a central figure.

Finally, No. 1.