Big game Alexandre Lacazette Arsenal’s grit vs Slavia Prague

Mikel Arteta stressed in the build-up to Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final second leg with Slavia Prague that big games call for big players. No specific Arsenal star was mentioned but Alexandre Lacazette fits that mould.

With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doubtful with illness having not trained on the day before kick-off, it passes the mantle over to the No. 9, who may well have been given the nod in any case.

Perhaps rightly so. A firm fan favourite in north London, Alexandre Lacazette is many things: a dogged warrior, a relentless worker, a curator of phases, overtly affable, inconsistent, and an erratic finisher.

Above all, though, he’s a certified big game player.

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Big game Alexandre Lacazette vital to Arsenal securing aggregate success over Slavia Prague in Europa League quarter-finals

Supporters are no strangers to his dry spells in front of goal. They’re the primary source of reproval when it comes to summarising his time in north London. Once or twice throughout a season they emerge, banishing what positive patches of form he may have had prior.

Yet when his time with Arsenal draws to a close, he will be fondly remembered for the moments in the timeline where he asserted himself on fixtures classified as ‘big games’. When senior players need to step up to the plate it’s Lacazette who turns up for the first serving. Racking your brain for the goals he’s scored, those which spring to mind all share a common denominator.

The argument will be where was this in the first leg. It had abandoned him: his finishing weak and his involvement scarce. Rarely does lightning strike the same place twice.

This season is no different. Of Lacazette’s 15 goals, only two have come in matches where the Gunners have lost, against Liverpool and Manchester City. Invariably, when Lacazette plays well, so do Arsenal.

Of course, the 29-year-old need not score to have an effective performance, but his involvements against stronger opposition in high-profile encounters has become the anchor to memorable results. Europa League knockout fixtures being the immediate recollections: the free-kick in Naples, both ties with Valencia, at home to CSKA, the header against Atletico. He doesn’t shy away from stature, even if there are less glamorous examples.

In a system where the balance of personnel up front isn’t always neatly aligned by Mikel Arteta, Lacazette’s standing in offering symmetry between penalty box aggression and midfield to attack connection will be key at the Sinobo Stadium.

A summer departure will be the right move for all parties but there is still time for Lacazette’s niche to propel Arsenal closer to their ultimate goal. At this stage, their only one.