Arsenal vs Wolverhampton: 5 key players in search for three points

4. Alexandre Lacazette

Having watched Alexandre Lacazette for the past couple of years and consistently ranked him as either No. 1 or No. 2 on this same list, maybe I’m just suffering from Laca withdrawals, but whatever the case, I’ve seen his impact diminishing lately and I don’t like it.

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Of course he’s been hurt, and when he came back, the crowd was booing off his captain and the club was in implosion mode. That’s a lot to come back to, and I have to imagine it’s made it harder for him to get back into the swing of things.

And I don’t think it will be solved quickly. It’s the kind of thing you have to kind of massage away. And it probably won’t translate to textbook Lacazette dominance against Wolverhampton. That said… if it did? It would alleviate a lot of lingering concerns, and that’s why Lacazette still shows up on this list. Because he’s always got that potential to show up in a big way and change the face of the game.

It would be really nice to see that against Wolverhampton, really nice. But one way or another, he is going to have his impact on this match. Whether that means flourishing for a full 90, or whether that means struggling for 60 and being withdrawn for Bukayo Saka.

Next up, No. 3.