Whenever Arsenal target a player, their weaknesses seem to be all anyone can talk about. For current target Alexandre Lacazette, it’s his reputation as ‘a penalty merchant’. Of his 37 goals in the 2016/17 season, 11 were from the spot. That may be concerning at first glance for Arsenal supporters, but there’s a reason why it’s not all bad.
In the current squad, Arsenal do not have a reliable penalty taker. The club only won nine penalty kicks last season, and just six were converted. That’s a 67% success rate. Lacazette, on the other hand, had an 80% success rate from the spot. Having a stable presence from the spot will take pressure off the rest of the squad and let fans breathe a little easier. Additionally, having him be the penalty taker will prevent star players like Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez from spiralling into an extended run of horrific form when they miss a penalty.
Lacazette scored 10 of his penalties in Ligue 1, meaning his league tally of 28 goals gets brought down to 18 goals from open play, which is still a respectable mark. The 10 league penalties also show that he’s able to draw fouls in the box, which is something Arsenal do not do well at the moment. If he can get contact in the box to get awarded penalties in Ligue 1, then there’s a great chance he can do the same in the Premier League, which is known as one of the most physical leagues in the world.
Furthermore, Arsenal fans shouldn’t worry about the French forward’s high penalty tally because he didn’t have the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez supplying him with chances. While Nabil Fekir, Mathieu Valbuena, and Corentin Tolisso are good playmakers, they’re nowhere near the caliber of Ozil and Sanchez. Lacazette’s pace will complement Ozil’s passing ability perfectly, so the centre forward should see more chances on the red side of north London than he did in Lyon.
Alexis Sanchez spent a lot of time as a centre-forward last season, and it paid off as he scored 30 goals in all competitions. That stellar season from the Chilean proves that Arsenal are better with a quick player up top rather than a target man like Olivier Giroud.
Signing Lacazette will let Sanchez move back to the wing where he is more comfortable and is able to be on the ball for longer periods of time. With Lacazette in the middle, Arsenal will have the pacy presence that can spread a defence without having to sacrifice Alexis’ ability to dominate a game by terrorizing defenders from the wing.
With the right supply, Lacazette will increase his tally from open play. The fact that he can be relied upon to put away PKs is what makes him an even more attractive signing for the Arsenal. If Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis can sign up the Frenchman and extend the contracts of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, then Arsenal will have one of the quickest, most incisive attacks that the Premier League has ever seen.
