Alexandre Lacazette: 2019/20 Performances

[Finesse]

Some of these posts about Laca clearly epitomises why rival fans have a go at us. Even in a game where we had 2 chances with 2 shots on goal he is still lambasted. The amount of work he has put on under Arteta is second to non. Without him leading the work rate from the top the whole team would fold. He does his work and comes deep to win balls when Özil has no more legs.

Comparing him to Firmino is equally dumbfounding. The Question is Firmino leading the line for Arsenal and Laca leading the line for Liverpool as things stand who will score more ? The answer shows why we shouldn’t even compare.

Our strikers and wingers have it all to play to create chances. Our midfield is improved and can now control games. However we still need to make this midfield create and support the front 3. This is not happening yet and that’s the reason for our inability to kill of games. Laca is a box player and we are not dominating the final third of he midfield enough for him to be fully exploited.

Even Auba will struggle to lead the line and put the shift Laca does for the team. Auba can put that work rate tracking back from the wings. But not from the top and we tried that a lot before and he was anonymous up top. Yet our best scorer.

An investment in the right offensive midfielder would bring the best out of Laca and our forwards. A midfielder who can dominate the final third and bring players into play would be decisive. Like we see week in week out from KDB , David Silva etc. Why are we not going out and paying to get this Grealish boy from Villa. Is it because he is not some foreigner playing in Europe with YouTube videos ? This boy under Arteta would drive the team forward. His natural instinct is to control and drive the ball forward and his ability to feed the wingers and forwards is class. He has energy and stamina and can drive the game into the opposing side. He would slot in just fine and does not need to acclimatise to the PL.

 

[Malky]

No away goals in nearly a full calendar year, no goals in his last 7 games?
Hopefully we get a decent offer in the summer for him, use the money to keep Auba and sign a CB/CM/ etc.
The support he still receives from Arsenal fans is mad considering the abuse that Giroud used to get. Watching Laca every week makes me miss Giroud.

 

[carlito'sway]

Did you read any of what I just said mate? They do compare and people compare them both on here quite regularly. They both fulfill the same role in our team.

Fulfill the same role is not an element of comparison mate....True they both play as CF but the comparison should stop there. It is like comparing Luiz to Sergio Ramos, they both play CB.
Despite the numbers, Firmino is a far superior player than Lacazette.

 

[Hleb's Sirush]

Laca made his reputation on the back of his work in or around the penalty area. His 100 goals for Lyon show what he is, a finisher, poacher etc. He might sometimes be able to do a decent job linking play but clearly that isn't his strenght.

Right now can anyone say he is playing as a traditional striker? Take last night's game, his heat map will tell you he was operating as a no. 10. Constantly dropping so deep he was level or deeper than our attacking midfielders. It is a game he isn't really suited to. Hasn't got the acceleration or speed to then burst forward, sprinting half the field to reach their goal. Apart from the offside goal he didn't get one chance or even attempt one shot during the whole game. Not because he just couldn't get into the game, but because he just wasn't in the final third.

I'm not making excuses for him but how can you judge a striker like him when he isn't playing like one. He is by all intends operating almost as a midfielder. It isn't doing us or him any good. Take him away from the starting line up, all this is doing is making him lose confidence in front of the goal. At least put someone more suited to that role in his place.

 

[Jae]

Fulfill the same role is not an element of comparison mate....True they both play as CF but the comparison should stop there. It is like comparing Luiz to Sergio Ramos, they both play CB.
Despite the numbers, Firmino is a far superior player than Lacazette.

Well go on then mate, enlighten me what makes them so different then? I
don't think anyone would dispute the fact that Firmino is a superior player. I'm telling you that this season they are putting up similar figures. So what makes one great and one awful?

 

[carlito'sway]

Well go on then mate, enlighten me what makes them so different then? I
don't think anyone would dispute the fact that Firmino is a superior player. I'm telling you that this season they are putting up similar figures. So what makes one great and one awful?

They may have similar figures but that does not make them comparable. As you wrote yourself, Firmino is a superior player. That has been my point all along.

 

[Furious]

Laca made his reputation on the back of his work in or around the penalty area. His 100 goals for Lyon show what he is, a finisher, poacher etc. He might sometimes be able to do a decent job linking play but clearly that isn't his strenght.

Right now can anyone say he is playing as a traditional striker? Take last night's game, his heat map will tell you he was operating as a no. 10. Constantly dropping so deep he was level or deeper than our attacking midfielders. It is a game he isn't really suited to. Hasn't got the acceleration or speed to then burst forward, sprinting half the field to reach their goal. Apart from the offside goal he didn't get one chance or even attempt one shot during the whole game. Not because he just couldn't get into the game, but because he just wasn't in the final third.

I'm not making excuses for him but how can you judge a striker like him when he isn't playing like one. He is by all intends operating almost as a midfielder. It isn't doing us or him any good. Take him away from the starting line up, all this is doing is making him lose confidence in front of the goal. At least put someone more suited to that role in his place.

Course you're making excuses, even when you don't need to.

Last night was a tough game for every player, never mind for the lone CF.

Why would you even entertain the idea of talking about his heat map in a game, when we naturally had to sit deeper? Course it's going to resemble that of a 10 when we're 1 man down.

He's poor at creating his own chances/shot opportunities, that's why he can't buy a chance to save his life. Not just last night, but in general too. He needs the perfect chance/shot angle/whatever to have a chance at scoring because his physical attributes are incredibly poor; weak, small, and infuriatingly slow. At least with that donkey Giroud, you could spam crosses and he'd get a shot away.

 

[Furious]

Well go on then mate, enlighten me what makes them so different then? I
don't think anyone would dispute the fact that Firmino is a superior player. I'm telling you that this season they are putting up similar figures. So what makes one great and one awful?

Firmino is a former attacking midfielder so he's not a natural goalscorer. But unlike Lacazette, he's actually a proper footballer, great technical and dribbling ability, which means he is a great foil to their main goalscorers, Mane and Salah, especially because of his ability to come deep and help retain possession.

Has scored some super important goals for them too, only away goals this season in the league actually; weirdo. Two goals away at Leciester, winners away at Sp**s and Chelsea. Lacazette couldn't buy himself a goal at Norwich.

All these things added up make him a far superior player. He doesn't have to score every game, they know he brings a lot to the table even when he isn't scoring. Lacazette, besides his hard work, doesn't, he's a poor footballer.

 

[Hleb's Sirush]

He's not without criticism, he hasn't been good enough by his own standard, he can and MUST do better. I said ages ago he'd end up being the next scapegoat and it's looking like I'm right.

I agree with this. He needs to do better but he is an easy scapegoat. So easy to say how bad a striker he is when it as a fact he can't score goals at the moment. How can you score goals though when lately you aren't getting near the goal, on average probably every 60 minutes he might get a sight. Some of it is of course his own doing and his lack of pace. The majority is team related. The same problem we have with Pepe, he too isn't far enough up the pitch to contribute effectively.

As we were playing Chelsea last night it was interesting to watch Abraham. By all accounts he has had a terrific season so far, up there as the leading scorer in the League. Watching him closely you realise why. Chelsea create a lot of chances. Every game Abraham is provided with numerous clear cut chances to add to his tally. He is actually not doing so well. He missed 15 big chances this season. His conversion rate is appalling.

In comparison Laca missed 3 big chances this season (he also created 3 big chances so his net gain is even). We just not creating many big chances. That is our problem. Granted sometimes strikers create their own chances but the vast majority of their chances are created by the team. If laca was missing chances by the bucket load I would be criticising him more.

 

[Hleb's Sirush]

Why would you even entertain the idea of talking about his heat map in a game, when we naturally had to sit deeper? Course it's going to resemble that of a 10 when we're 1 man down.

I didn't see much difference in areas Laca was playing in between this game and to those against Crystal Palace and Sheffield United etc. His heat map was probably the same. I think there can be no question that he is dropping way too deep, regardless if we have 11 or 10 players.

 

[lamby22]

I've genuinely forgotten what a Lacazette goal looks like. Looks like he hasn't scored a league goal since early December. Poverty stuff.

 

[Furious]

I didn't see much difference in areas Laca was playing in between this game and to those against Crystal Palace and Sheffield United etc. His heat map was probably the same. I think there can be no question that he is dropping way too deep, regardless if we have 11 or 10 players.

I just looked at player positions on whoscored back to the Utd game.

Yesterday was the only time he was averaging position back to the half line.

Otherwise it's around at the tip of the circle.

But these things aren't comparable without looking into possession of the ball, score, etc. We even were 10 men for a while against Palace too.

 

[Furious]

I agree with this. He needs to do better but he is an easy scapegoat. So easy to say how bad a striker he is when it as a fact he can't score goals at the moment. How can you score goals though when lately you aren't getting near the goal, on average probably every 60 minutes he might get a sight. Some of it is of course his own doing and his lack of pace. The majority is team related. The same problem we have with Pepe, he too isn't far enough up the pitch to contribute effectively.

As we were playing Chelsea last night it was interesting to watch Abraham. By all accounts he has had a terrific season so far, up there as the leading scorer in the League. Watching him closely you realise why. Chelsea create a lot of chances. Every game Abraham is provided with numerous clear cut chances to add to his tally. He is actually not doing so well. He missed 15 big chances this season. His conversion rate is appalling.

In comparison Laca missed 3 big chances this season (he also created 3 big chances so his net gain is even). We just not creating many big chances. That is our problem. Granted sometimes strikers create their own chances but the vast majority of their chances are created by the team. If laca was missing chances by the bucket load I would be criticising him more.

This season we aren't creating many big chances, true.

But last season when we created more; Laca was missing as many as those Abraham numbers.

Net gain of big chances missed/created? I don't even....

 

[Hleb's Sirush]

This season we aren't creating many big chances, true.

But last season when we created more; Laca was missing as many as those Abraham numbers.

Net gain of big chances missed/created? I don't even....

That is why I said last season he needed to improve on being more clinical. Which he did start doing at the start of this season but since then he isn't getting many chances.

All I am saying is there is no point playing Laca in this role. Play him further up the field or don't play him at all.

 

[Furious]

That is why I said last season he needed to improve on being more clinical. Which he did start doing at the start of this season but since then he isn't getting many chances.

All I am saying is there is no point playing Laca in this role. Play him further up the field or don't play him at all.

He's playing at striker mate. But yeah, better off not playing him when Auba comes back.

 

[Trilly]

Giroud had prime Özil, Cazorla, Sanchez and Ramsey behind him. Just remember that.

 

[BigPoppaPump]

Some of you guys have proper low standards for players I think that's why there's such a difference of opinion on this forum.

 

[Trilly]

Some of you guys have proper low standards for players I think that's why there's such a difference of opinion on this forum.

Some of you guys have proper high standards for players I think that’s why there’s such a difference of opinion on this forum.

 

[Riou]

...MY manager, rating MY striker...not surprised, quality knows quality.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

...MY manager, rating MY striker...not surprised, quality knows quality.

Arteta is working with very average players. This is what he has to do to get the best out of them.