Arsenal and Alexandre Lacazette: Return to form?

Alexandre Lacazette scuffed a goal to break his two-month drought. Will the Arsenal striker now return to form in the manner that his team needs?

It has been a difficult period for Alexandre Lacazette. You do not need to be a mind reader to see that the Frenchman has suffered during a two-month goal drought which nearly extended 10 games, which would have been his longest run of matches without a goal since moving to Arsenal in 2017.

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Lacazette was, in fact, dropped from the starting XI for Sunday afternoon’s 4-0 victory over Newcastle United. Even during his goalless run, head coach Mikel Arteta stuck by the centre-forward, recognising the value he brings to the team in other aspects beyond making the net ripple. But after such an extended drought that was beginning to impact the quality of his all-around play, even Arteta had run out of patience.

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But Lacazette was introduced late on, once the game was secured, and had one goal in mind: well, a goal. The Frenchman, though, went one further. He first assisted Mesut Ozil with a terrific spin and pass, when he could — and perhaps even should — have shot, before then scuffing a finish into the top corner in the dying seconds of the match. It was a terrible finish, but it curled past the stranded Martin Dubravka, his shot coming off his standing left foot in the process. Lacazette, of course, did not care, and he wheeled off in jubilant celebration. It was evident how much the goal meant to him.

Speaking in an interview after the match, Lacazette did not hold back on how difficult this recent period has been, how happy he is to have finally broken his goalscoring duck, and also touched on the inspiring response of his teammates, who all leapt onto his back in celebration of his goal:

"“I am really, really happy because I waited for this moment for a long time. As well, I am touched because of the way all my team-mates reacted when I scored that goal. It means a lot to me and a lot for the spirit we have in the team. This is good. It was really hard and complicated, because sometimes I had some games with no chances, sometimes I missed or the goalkeeper saved it. Of course for a striker it is always hard to not score, but it happens in football. Hopefully it is the last time for me.”"

Strikers are confidence-orientated beings. And Lacazette has proven to be streakier than most, often enduring periods of underwhelming form before reeling off several matches in succession with superb performances and prolific goalscoring numbers. It is fair, then, to ask whether this could be a turnining point for the striker.

Arteta turned to 20-year-old Eddie Nketiah in place of Lacazette. Arsenal struggled to string together offensive combinations as a result, Lacazette’s superior hold-up play, touch, and creative distribution noticeably absent. The Gunners are a better team with a confident Lacazette leading the line. He scores goals, usually, drops into the midfield to link up attacking moves, and helps creates space for others, especially Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who can make diagonal runs from the left-flank in behind the space that Lacazette has vacated.

Getting the best out of Lacazette was always a priority for Arteta. Now that Lacazette has his goal, we might finally see what Arteta has been striving for for the past two months, and Arsenal will be much the better for it.