Alexandre Lacazette: Laca the Net

[Dokaka]

It does sound like you have an agenda against Lacazette. The mood when he signed was that he's no world beater but it's good to have a mobile forward and something different to Giroud. However, a lot of us were impressed by him and thought he was better than what we expected (much better technically). You're making up a narrative because no one really thought he was a world class striker or Lewandowski.

Hell I was even calling him Germaine Defoé cos I thought that's what we were getting.

(Apologies for doing @THunter dirty like this )

Do you want me to keep going?

I only respond to the posts I see. I'm not making up a narrative. I never said everyone expected him to be a top class striker. Hell, you clearly see my saying that a lot of people were very apathetic about him signing. How exactly is that making up a narrative? Literally complementing his versatility, said he's easily good enough to start for a title contender, yet I have an agenda against him because I don't think he's a top class striker?

It's so telling how some posters engage in discussions while others immediately just accuse and attack the person instead. How anyone could read my posts here and come to the conclusion that I somehow inherently dislike Lacazette is beyond me.

 

[Jojoba]

The issue with Lacazette is not him but the way he is managed.

We're not playing to his strengths, nor do we have the correct players around him. Furthermore I believe Wenger and how he prioritizes ball retention is hurting him greatly. We dont "risk" a deep ball very often.

Imagine putting Lacazette into a side like Liverpool. That would be scary.

where have i heard before?.. Was it Özil? Ramsey? Giroud? Etc?

To me it gets cringy. Özil is not playing well because we are not playing to his strength. And mismanagement.

Ramsey is not doing well because we don’t play to his strength. And mismanagement.

Giroud is not playing well because we are not playing to his strength.

Now Laca is not soung well because we are not playing to his strength. And mismanagement.

No one is stopping Laca from taking more shots in and around the area insyead of always looking to pass mostly.

 

[field442]

(Apologies for doing @THunter dirty like this )

Do you want me to keep going?

I only respond to the posts I see. I'm not making up a narrative. I never said everyone expected him to be a top class striker. Hell, you clearly see my saying that a lot of people were very apathetic about him signing. How exactly is that making up a narrative? Literally complementing his versatility, said he's easily good enough to start for a title contender, yet I have an agenda against him because I don't think he's a top class striker?

It's so telling how some posters engage in discussions while others immediately just accuse and attack the person instead. How anyone could read my posts here and come to the conclusion that I somehow inherently dislike Lacazette is beyond me.

Some of those posts are tongue in cheek and some aren’t that outlandish. 20 goals was a realistic goal and he might even still achieve that. He’d be halfway there if he wasn’t subbed every game.

Granted there’s a few mental posts there but you always get a few mentalists come out of the woodwork on a transfer activity high.

 

[OSBK]

The issue with Lacazette is not him but the way he is managed.

We're not playing to his strengths, nor do we have the correct players around him. Furthermore I believe Wenger and how he prioritizes ball retention is hurting him greatly. We dont "risk" a deep ball very often.

Imagine putting Lacazette into a side like Liverpool. That would be scary.

Spot on.

Considering the poor service laca has received he has been above expectations. His hold up play is superior to giroud, he is tech better than welbeck, his movement is better than theo, overall he is a much better player than those options.

Sanchez/iwobi/Özil are not on his wavelength. I would argue that sanchez and iwobi should not be playing but we do not have the suitable replacements. Isco,bale type of players are what we need.

 

[Mo Britain]

Everyone is keen on signing players. Once we've signed them, the doubts emerge.

Look at Kolasinac. He had a couple of promising games early on and he was being hailed as the new Messiah. Now many suggest he is "not good enough".

 

[Taylor Gang Gunners]

Okay so I have an incredibly busy few days on, but when I get a moment I will be back to put @Dokaka in his place. He's getting way too comfortable in this fugazy "neutral" role he has here.

Bare with me.

 

[Dokaka]

Some of those posts are tongue in cheek and some aren’t that outlandish. 20 goals was a realistic goal and he might even still achieve that. He’d be halfway there if he wasn’t subbed every game.

Granted there’s a few mental posts there but you always get a few mentalists come out of the woodwork on a transfer activity high.

These were just a snippet. The main point wasn't that people were saying Laca was on par with the very best (that wasn't a common thing), but rather that he was undeniably an upgrade on Giroud, as in it wasn't even up for debate. That's where I (and some others) disagreed.

People were clearly expecting a significant step up from Giroud if they were expecting 20-25+ in the league.

 

[Dokaka]

Okay so I have an incredibly busy few days on, but when I get a moment I will be back to put @Dokaka in his place. He's getting way too comfortable in this fugazy "neutral" role he has here.

Bare with me.

 

[A_G]

Not entirely true, just look at the first 10-20 pages. People saying he's a better Ian Wright, that they're expecting 20 goals in the league alone (some way higher), how your CF woes are finally over. Hell, even some arguments for you having the best front 3 in the league.

I just read the first 20 pages, the only time Ian Wright was mentioned was in regards to Gerard Houllier saying he was similar in style. Not sure what's controversial about the other comments, Alexis-Özil-Lacazette at their best are a match for anyone in the league. I don't think anyone really went overboard, once you get past the initial euphoria of a £50m signing at a position that sorely needed strengthening.

your attack has looked just about the same as the last 3-4 seasons.

Do we really have a big enough sample size to say either way? How many games did the 3 big attackers start together in a row with a back 3? Just in October, Lacazette lined up with Alexis/Iwobi behind him v Brighton, then Iwobi/Welbeck v Watford, then Alexis/Özil v Everton. No surprise the attack looks disjointed when there's no cohesion due to a revolving door of personnel. That goes to answer this:

The weird thing is he's on track do Giroud's usual numbers,

Giroud has had the benefit of playing with a much better midfield (Ramsey/Arteta in 2013 and Cazorla/Coquelin in 2015) behind him, along with a settled attack for the most part. I feel confident in saying if you plugged Lacazette into either of those teams he'd outscore Oli.

I still think it was a good signing but not for the reasons a lot of people did. He's not the long-term answer to your CF problems, but he's a brilliant player to have when you're reliant on three quality options up front. He can do the business across all three positions which means you can feasibly upgrade any of the three areas and Lacazette just slots in for the weakest option.

Say you buy another CF, and Lacazette can easily just shift out right and replace Iwobi.

Lacazette may not single handedly make the difference, but he could have been the missing piece in an otherwise functioning team; Arsenal 15/16 being the example I've always used. The back 4, CM and front 3 were set, just needed the GK and CF. We got Cech and if we'd got Lacazette as well, I'm sure he could have scored enough to win us the title. So I agree with you that he's not a game changer in that sense, I just don't think it's fair to attack him for not turning a club in disarray all by himself. I mean we've gone from this:

Not surprised Wenger was key in signing a player who had other English teams in the Champions League chasing him too.

To nobody else wanted to sign him.

 

[carlito'sway]

Perhaps it’s not confirmation bias but there’s no objectivity. They wait to pounce on any small mistake or missed chance so they can tell everyone they were right about him being “not any better than Giroud”. Then someone else will jump on the comment and like it and they’ll have a circle jerk about him being Average. Case in point, look at the people liking your post. Gdeep will come along later and you’ll have the full set.

Dude, hate to break it to you, but this is an open forum where everyone can come and express their opinion. If you want it to be an echo chamber, you may be at the wrong place. Some here have been praising Laca as the second coming of Suarez or as the elite striker we have been waiting for. The fact is that he is not and will never be and that is an objective analysis.

 

[A_G]

Who ever compared Lacazette to Suarez or any elite striker? I keep seeing this said but nobody ever produces proof of such statements. The level of discussion on A-M is at such a low level that any praise at all is considered the same thing as saying he's better than Messi.

 

[Makingtrax]

Who ever compared Lacazette to Suarez or any elite striker? I keep seeing this said but nobody ever produces proof of such statements. The level of discussion on A-M is at such a low level that any praise at all is considered the same thing as saying he's better than Messi.

I think the guy will improve when he gets used to the Prem, maybe next season.

And the level of discussion on AM is somewhere above the stratosphere compared to many football forums.

Most don't even mention money at all.

 

[say yes]

Dude, hate to break it to you, but this is an open forum where everyone can come and express their opinion. If you want it to be an echo chamber, you may be at the wrong place. Some here have been praising Laca as the second coming of Suarez or as the elite striker we have been waiting for. The fact is that he is not and will never be and that is an objective analysis.

Might be a language barrier here but stating your opinion that Lacazette isn’t an elite striker and never will be isnt an ‘analysis’. Much less an objective one.

You don’t rate Lacazette and we shouldn’t have signed him. We get it. We’ve heard you.

Save the ‘I told you so’ posts for a game where he actually deserves it or, failing that, more than 5 months and three 90 mins appearances into his Arsenal career.

 

[Mitch]

I thought Lacazette a good performance again yesterday with good link up play and movement he displayed.

Out of the 3 striker signing made in the summer by the big teams he has the least amount of goals but performances wise there is no doubting Lacazette has been the best of the 3.

 

[samshere]

Laca was okay yesterday. But he needs to learn to get off his shots faster, he gets closed down too often. He's got decent feet, he could think about moving with the ball to create space before taking his shot. I've seen enough to not be disappointed with a couple of no shows along the way(did get an assist tho)

 

[Jury]

All things considered, he's having a really good first season, for me.

 

[Jury]

Who ever compared Lacazette to Suarez or any elite striker? I keep seeing this said but nobody ever produces proof of such statements. The level of discussion on A-M is at such a low level that any praise at all is considered the same thing as saying he's better than Messi.

People always have to create angles to give their opinions more punch, even if the angle doesn't exist. Hyperbollocks.

 

[tcahill]

where have i heard before?.. Was it Özil? Ramsey? Giroud? Etc?

To me it gets cringy. Özil is not playing well because we are not playing to his strength. And mismanagement.

Ramsey is not doing well because we don’t play to his strength. And mismanagement.

Giroud is not playing well because we are not playing to his strength.

Now Laca is not soung well because we are not playing to his strength. And mismanagement.

No one is stopping Laca from taking more shots in and around the area insyead of always looking to pass mostly.

Why do people find this so hard to believe? Players are rarely 'plug and play' types, and the players who are usually the jack of all trades master of none variety.

Laca is a player who will happily take a ping if he has room. Because our slow building style of attacks, the opposing team can get behind the ball, leading to him often surrounded by defenders. His main strength is his composure and finishing, with pretty decent dribbling to go with it. He's not a aerial threat or particularly quick. Meaning he's reliant on service from others. Give him chances and he'll bury them.

 

[carlito'sway]

Might be a language barrier here but stating your opinion that Lacazette isn’t an elite striker and never will be isnt an ‘analysis’. Much less an objective one.

You don’t rate Lacazette and we shouldn’t have signed him. We get it. We’ve heard you.

Save the ‘I told you so’ posts for a game where he actually deserves it or, failing that, more than 5 months and three 90 mins appearances into his Arsenal career.

My objective analysis is that he is not an elite striker and I am sorry it offended your sensibilities.

 

[A_G]

The only times Suarez has come up in discussions about Lacazette:

Lacazette isn't an Mbappe/Suarez level of signing but he's still a huge improvement and we've done it early.

I don't get the Lacazette "hate". Ok, he's not an Agüero, Suarez or Lewandowski, but he has delivered for three consecutive seasons, scoring over 20 goals in the league. He is one of the most lethal and clinical finishers in Europe.

Who else do we get, and more imporantly, on what grounds?

I'm not saying Lacazette is elite, he is no Suarez ofc.

Well ofc I wish we sign Mbappé or a top striker like Suarez, but if it's not possible then Lacazette is still a very good option IMO.

We've signed a CF but he's not Suarez, he's not going to score enough to paper over the cracks in our midfield.

I'm all for signing quality and have screamed for Suarez, Higgy, and Benz for years but they're no longer available and as of right now I see no better striker than Lacazette on the market.