Arsenal and Alexandre Lacazette: France confusion alright with me

Alexandre Lacazette has again been omitted from the France national squad, confusing Thierry Henry. But such confusion, while frustrating for Lacazette personally, is only a good thing for Arsenal.

In Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal have one of the very best centre-forwards in world football. Aubameyang is one of the greatest goalscorers of his generation. The numbers speak for themselves. But Aubameyang is not the only elite striker in the Gunners’ midst.

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

His strike partner, on and off the pitch, Alexandre Lacazette, is equally as potent, even if he approaches the position in a very different manner. Where Aubameyang’s game revolves around goals, Lacazette, who certainly knows where the net is, offers much more to the team than just goals. His touch is superb, he is strong, powerful, and he lays on assists and creates chances. It was Lacazette, not Aubameyang, who was named Arsenal’s Player of the Season last year.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

But for all of his excellent play, first for Lyon and now in north London, Lacazette can not force his way into the French national squad. Head coach Didier Deschamps has chosen other avenues, inclduing the man Lacazette replaced, Olivier Giroud, who is now sitting on the bench at Chelsea.

When asked about Lacazette’s curious and sustained absence from the France squad by Goal, Thierry Henry said:

"“Didier [Deschamps] knows what he’s doing. Didier’s the boss of the national team so I don’t know why he [Alexandre Lacazette] hasn’t been called. All I can tell you is what I see, like I’ve been doing for a little while, for Lyon and Arsenal. He’s a goalscorer but competition is massive in France to play up front <…> I always liked Lacazette as a No. 9 but the most important thing is that Didier likes him.”"

For Lacazette personally, I am sure he is extremely disappointed to not be more involved in the France set-up. And while Deschamps won the World Cup in 2018 and is a vastly experienced player and coach, the repeated decision to omit Lacazette is difficult to understand, to say the least.

Nevertheless, from a purely Arsenal perspective, Lacazette’s lack of national team involvement is extremely positive. The Premier League is an infamously challenging league, especially physically. Lacazette to be handed a two-week rest from competitive football every time there is an international break, then, is no bad thing.

As we saw in Lacazette’s first season in England, he has struggled with the rigours of the Premier League schedule, particularly during the notorious festive period. And this season, he dealt with an ankle problem that he initially played through and eventually sat out for a month to fully recover from.

Next. Arsenal Vs Leicester City: 5 things we learned. dark

Consequently, while it must be heartbreaking for Lacazette to watch his national teammates enjoy such great success on the international stage, these continual rests throughout the season are helpful to his club career. And for the Gunners, that is all that really matters.

Home/Arsenal News