Alexandre Lacazette: Laca the Net

[MaraDon]

There's been fan and media pressure for years, since when has that ever effected transfer policy or anything else at the club? Wenger and the board don't care.

That player had a clear ceiling, which wasn't good enough anyway.

im not denying we needed a striker, we took the cheap option, and we needed to correct the situation after only 3 months.

was a wrong call to buy him.
Auba Giroud would have been much stronger than what we have now.

 

[<<reed>>]

5 years of Giroud were better than 6 months of Lacarette

 

[Jury]

Not worth crucifying him for coming on and missing a very difficult volley. 6 miles wide is the same as 6 inches.

 

[MutableEarth]

Giroud would have been killed for those 2 misses to be honest.

 

[grange]

Giroud couldn't ever make that run for that 2nd chance to begin with

 

[Giroud12]

Wenger benched Giroud, moved Alexis back out wide & gave Lacazette over 2000 minutes so far.

Not sure what Wenger has done wrong here... Maybe just sign the guy he resisted for years.

Doesnt matter. Giving him minutes is not enough. Of course Sanchez and Giroud should have been moved out - if not, then it was pointless to buy him in the first place.

Sure, he got some minutes, but he has played 2 full games for us. Didnt start in our first big game of the season. Subbed when scoring twice against Brighton. And even worse, he is subbed and people like Iwobi and Welbeck is still on the field.

Look at Lukaku, has been missing sitters all year, but keeps on playing. Once he gets going he will be really good, because he gets the chance to settle. Wasnt it Sp**s that didnt win with Bale on the field for something like 20 games? Under Wenger he would be out for good no doubt.

Giving a guy 60 minutes here and 15 minutes there doesnt do that. Some people on here simply have an anti Laca agenda, and really need to open their eyes a bit. Wenger has managed both Laca and Kola terribly, and neither should have been brought to the club if Wenger dont rate them.

The weird thing about Wenger is that he is so easy to write off quality players like Lacazette and Kolasinac, yet keeps giving game time to inferior players like Iwobi and Welbeck. Weird.

 

[NieThePiet]

Giroud would have been killed for those 2 misses to be honest.

Giroud would never have the second chance.

 

[Giroud12]

The game I'm thinking about is Stoke. Welbeck squandered a few great opportunities in the final third and missed an unmarked header from inside the 6 yard box, yet stayed on for the full 90. Someone as rubbish as Welbeck staying on while you sub off your big summer signing doesn't send a good message.

@say yes used to say that Alexis or Özil should have come off earlier in the season when there was uncertainty about their contracts, to give Lacazette time on the pitch since he was the only one who was committed to the club beyond this season. I go along with that line of thinking, I don't think we owed either of them anything in terms of playing time earlier this season.

No disagreement there, he needs to be better. I'm not trying to absolve him of blame for his poor run.

Spot on. Welbeck vs. Stoke is the worst striker performance I have ever seen. Should have scored 4-5. Yet he played the full 90 and keeps on getting game time.

That Davidsdotter dude has been against Laca from day one. Im curious, what do you guys think of Morata and Lukaku then? Surely as bad as Laca? about the same goal ratio, but playing for better teams and gets 10x the chances.

 

[krengon]

I think it's foolish to outright dismiss the confidence issue really, he does look mentally affected in some way at least.. How he reacts to it will tell me all I need to know about him tbh, I will always have a lot of time for players who keep working hard and makes an effort even if things aren't working out atm, if he ends up sulking and giving up though, I'd look to cut our losses.

One positive today was that he got to the end of our biggest chances, and he did really well to get in the position for his 2nd chance.. Finishing was off, probably would have buried both if he wasn't in better form, but keep getting on the end of chances and things will eventually turn, he's shown he's a capable finisher.

 

[HBL]

I’m not going to write him off as plenty of players have struggled in their first season in this league but he has to improve. Been so frustrating to watch him over the last 6-8 weeks.

His work rate, mentality and movement seems to be poor, you’d expect more from a £50m striker that is fighting for his place at the World Cup. Don’t think the way we’re playing away from home at the minute helps his case but not hitting the target with either of those chances is inexcusable. He was in plenty of space for the volley, I don’t think it was a particularly difficult chance, he should’ve hit the target at least. The second chance lacked any real conviction.

 

[Garrincha]

Doesnt matter. Giving him minutes is not enough. Of course Sanchez and Giroud should have been moved out - if not, then it was pointless to buy him in the first place.

Sure, he got some minutes, but he has played 2 full games for us. Didnt start in our first big game of the season. Subbed when scoring twice against Brighton. And even worse, he is subbed and people like Iwobi and Welbeck is still on the field.

Look at Lukaku, has been missing sitters all year, but keeps on playing. Once he gets going he will be really good, because he gets the chance to settle. Wasnt it Sp**s that didnt win with Bale on the field for something like 20 games? Under Wenger he would be out for good no doubt.

Giving a guy 60 minutes here and 15 minutes there doesnt do that. Some people on here simply have an anti Laca agenda, and really need to open their eyes a bit. Wenger has managed both Laca and Kola terribly, and neither should have been brought to the club if Wenger dont rate them.

The weird thing about Wenger is that he is so easy to write off quality players like Lacazette and Kolasinac, yet keeps giving game time to inferior players like Iwobi and Welbeck. Weird.

Lukaku may look bad at times but still had 20 goals & 6 assist across all competitions by February. United also dont have a real replacement for Mourinhos system with Ibra out.

Lacazette was handed a first team place & he screwed it up. He now has to compete with not only Aubameyang but also the likes of Micky, Jack & Ramsey.

Good luck to him & hope he steps up.

 

[A_G]

But the priority is to win games, that's why Sanchez and Özil stayed on. If Laca's feelings get hurt for being subbed off a few times in a new and major club then that's on him.

It's not about hurt feelings, confidence is a big part of football. Wenger has spoken several times about managing Özil's confidence as well, that doesn't make him weak does it? If he was annoyed at getting subbed a few times I wouldn't care, but it's been happening every week so he has a right to feel aggrieved.

 

[Giroud12]

Whatever anybody thinks about Laca, one thing is clear: we either go 2 up top or we just pay Auba. No more subbing a striker off bollocks.

Sp**s seems to be doing fine with one world class striker and absolute dross as their backups.

As much as I think Laca is quality, there is not room for two strikers of that calibre. You just cant keep them both happy, and you certainly cant keep them sharp if they never play the full 90.

 

[KrissKringle]

Im curious, what do you guys think of Morata and Lukaku then? Surely as bad as Laca? about the same goal ratio, but playing for better teams and gets 10x the chances.

Laca would get more goals in a more direct team like those two. He's being deprived of his skills here when the players take forever to spot his runs or pick him out. They'd rather pass the ball around themselves.

 

[Giroud12]

Lukaku may look bad at times but still had 20 goals & 6 assist across all competitions by February. United also dont have a real replacement for Mourinhos system with Ibra out.

Lacazette was handed a first team place & he screwed it up. He now has to compete with not only Aubameyang but also the likes of Micky, Jack & Ramsey.

Good luck to him & hope he steps up.

I believe Laca would have scored as much as Lukaku, if not more, playing for a united team that at least in the first part of the season smashed teams regularly and creating 10+ chances every game. Plus they get more penalties than us.

Another way of looking at it is that he was handed a starting place and pretty much took it. He was looking very good for the first games, and suddenly was on the bench away to pool etc.

I would totally agree if Laca had played the full 90 for 20 games straight. But Wenger showed that he didnt believe in him pretty much after the first couple of games.

 

[Trilly]

£50m flop.
A top striker would bury both of those chances and he failed to even score one when we needed it.

I think you should watch top strikers more often.

Not really disagreeing with you on Lacazette but I think people overestimate how clinical top strikers are...they miss...a lot.

I’d almost be confident enough to say that every weekend you’ll be able to find clips of the world’s best forwards missing huge chances. This weekend we have Kane’s two free headers. PSG are about to play, I’m sure you’ll see one or two there.

 

[Trilly]

Technically does this mean he had a better game than Auba?

Oh I love playing devils advocate.

 

[MutableEarth]

Laca will be fine IMO.

 

[Furious]

That Davidsdotter dude has been against Laca from day one. Im curious, what do you guys think of Morata and Lukaku then? Surely as bad as Laca? about the same goal ratio, but playing for better teams and gets 10x the chances.

Who cares about Lukaku and Morata? If you really want to know they are both ****. As for the chances, they generate chances by their sheer size and speed, where Lacazette severely lacks on both accounts.

Giroud used to miss so many chances for us but we could find him all day long with crosses. With Laca however it's difficult to create chances for him, he's slow, weak, small, shot-shy, etc.

 

[KrissKringle]

As much as I think Laca is quality, there is not room for two strikers of that calibre. You just cant keep them both happy, and you certainly cant keep them sharp if they never play the full 90.

They both have to play from this moment on, because Wenger can't have the luxury anymore of saving players for other games. We're in a fu**in' limbo right now in the league!
Burnley is the next team after us at an 8 point difference and we're 5 (potentially 8) apart from Chelski.
Today they got some activity up front when he brought Laca on and moved Auba on the wing. That's how they should play and at times interchange to confuse the opposition.
It's a case of go hard, or go home right now.