Arsenal: Tyreece John-Jules must be ready to pounce

Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette will be unavailable until October because of a niggling ankle injury. Tyreece John-Jules stands to benefit from the Frenchman’s absence.

Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette has been ruled out until October with an ankle injury which has plagued him since pre-season. Tyreece John-Jules must be ready to capitalise on any opportunity that comes his way in the next few weeks.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Unai Emery out?

Lacazette’s absence leaves Arsenal temporarily thin in the striker department. It also deprives Unai Emery of arguably his best and most important player. The thought of an injury at the position was probably one of the reasons why Emery was reluctant to allow Eddie Nketiah to join Leeds United on a season-long loan deal in the summer.

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Ultimately, Nketiah’s development had to be prioritised. Emery made the correct decision in allowing Nketiah to leave on loan. The Leeds striker has found minutes hard to come by so far this season, but the campaign is still young and he is scoring goals at a prolific rate. Furthermore, Phil Hay of The Athletic reported that penalty clauses had been inserted into the contract, meaning that Leeds will be forced to make added payments if Marcelo Bielsa does not use Nketiah regularly.

Reiss Nelson should replace Lacazette in the Premier League starting XI, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang moving into a central role, but it is John-Jules who could profit from the Frenchman’s injury in the EFL Cup. The English striker made 17 appearances for the under-23s last season, scoring six times and turning provider twice. He was rewarded for his efforts and development with a new contract earlier this year.

For those who have not seen John-Jules play before, he is coincidentally comparable to Lacazette. He is a striker who is comfortable leading the line or dropping deep to be more involved in the creation of chances. For someone who is merely 18 years old, he is incredibly composed, technically skilled and intelligent. His movement and link-up play are also exemplary.

John-Jules was asked about his strengths and weaknesses in 2018. This was his response:

"“When I’m asked what my main strengths are I have to say they’re my finishing, strength and link-up play. I’m reasonably quick but I’m working on getting quicker. I spend a lot of time with the fitness coach because adding pace makes a striker more dangerous. I score goals with both feet as I’m comfortable shooting with left or right. That’s an advantage as defenders don’t know which way to show me. Being two-footed is important. From a very young age, I worked hard – and still do – on developing my left foot as I’m naturally right-footed.”"

It would be interesting to see how John-Jules would cope against some robust, senior and experienced centre-backs. It would provide Arsenal’s hierarchy with an indication as to whether he needs a loan move or whether he is ready to challenge Nketiah for a spot in the first team.

Forgetting the Lacazette injury, the striker situation at Arsenal looks very promising. Besides Nketiah and John-Jules, they also have Folarin Balogun and Sam Greenwood coming through the ranks. If everything goes right over the next few years, they may not have to spend a single penny to replace their two best players. That would be quite something.

Arsenal cannot risk losing Aubameyang to injury in inferior competitions. Promoting young players from the academy into the first team has also become a high-priority objective. Combining these two aims puts John-Jules in a tremendous situation in which first-team minutes should be just around the corner.

Now, all he needs is the under-fire Emery is to put some faith in his ability. With that, the world really is at his feet.