Since Robin Van Persie left, Arsenal have not since had a top quality marksman. The man tasked to fill that gaping hole in Arsenal’s team, was Montpellier striker, Olivier Giroud.
Giroud arrived from France, having had an excellent season for Montpellier in which he scored 21 goals combined with 12 assists, according to transfermrkt. In his four seasons with Arsenal, however, he has never broken the 20 goal mark, in the Premier League that is. It is this lack of goal scoring ability, that many Arsenal fans have attributed to the club’s lack of a League title.
Arsenal are in desperate need of a striker with pace and mobility up front. The Jamie Vardy saga is over and Alvaro Morata’s price is incredibly inflated, thus Arsenal need to look elsewhere in a field which is bereft of many star strikers. There are, however, two strikers in France whom Arsenal should target: Alexandre Lacazette and Michy Batshuayi.
The latter of the two has been mentioned as one of the best young strikers in Europe. Batshuayi is apart of the phenomenon, that is the youth conveyor belt coming out of Belgium at the moment. He made his debut at 18 for Liege and progressed to become a star in the Belgian Pro-League, scoring 21 goals in his final season for Standard Liege.
Batshuayi, made the move Marseille in 2014 and has just come off his best season for the club – scoring 17 goals in Ligue 1. The young Belgian, is powerful, quick and an adept finisher. His power and pace, is exactly what Arsenal need up front. Giroud is an excellent link up man but in key games, he does not possess the quality to score a goal from nothing. Arsenal will need to move quickly, however as reports suggested that Crystal palace have agreed a £31.6 million fee for the striker.
YouTube: Michy Batshuayi – ALL 23 GOALS in 2015/16 HD
The other striker in question, Alexandre Lacazette, is a familiar name for many, and has also been targeted by English clubs, namely West Ham. The French international has become one of the better strikers in Europe over the last few seasons. He has now scored 20 or more goals for two successive seasons, scoring 27 in 2014/15.
Although smaller in stature, Lacazette is surprisingly strong on the ball and is equally as fast as Batshuayi. As you’d expect from a player three years older, his overall game is more polished than the Belgian’s. He is a better finisher and makes excellent runs off the ball. In combination with Ozil, Lacazette could be deadly, as he will continue to exploit space in behind, which Ozil loves to pass into.
Both strikers present something Giroud and Arsenal, as a whole, do not have: pace and mobility in the final third. While the young Belgian is still slightly raw, he has more potential than Lacazette. Lacazette is a striker that could do well in the League right away, where as Batshuayi who would need some fine tuning. Either way, one of these strikers must be considered.
YouTube: Alexandre Lacazette – ALL 23 GOALS in 2015/16 HD
