After years of empty speculation and rumours, Arsenal have finally got their man. Alexandre Lacazette has completed his £52million move from French outfit Lyon to the Emirates Stadium. The French hotshot has signed a five-year deal after Arsenal agreed a club-record fee with Lyon which could rise to the figure of £52M over the course of his contract.
Lacazette had initially had a verbal agreement with Atletico Madrid this summer but any potential move collapsed as Madrid were handed a transfer ban which was handed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Arsenal’s opening bid of £39m was rejected last month, but Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas had confirmed that a deal was likely to be completed after the sides compromised on a fee that would eclipse the £42.5m Arsenal shelled out to sign Mesut Ozil in 2013.
Lacazette did say towards the end of the season that he would only move to a club playing Champions League football next season but it seems as though the lure to play under Arsene Wenger has softened Lacazette’s ambitions. He boasted the highest conversion rate of an striker in Europe last season (38.9%), scoring an incredible 37 goals in 45 games as Lyon secured a fourth placed finish in Ligue 1 and reached the Europa League semi-finals.
There is a reason for optimism within the Arsenal faithful with the hope that Lacazette can continue the form that has seen him become of Europe’s most deadliest strikers. His goal-scoring record puts him among the very best in Europe. Only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Gonzalo Higuain and Robert Lewandowski have scored more goals than the Frenchman in the last three seasons. He is even above Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs9ElyuKMBM
In actual fact, his numbers are improving every season. He notched 28 league goals and 37 in all competitions last term – his best ever return to date. He leaves Lyon as their best ever goalscorer in 30 years and the fourth highest in the clubs decorated history. It would be difficult to dismiss his record as anything but special.
The Frenchman promises to be a fine addition to a team that has been crying out for a deadly frontman for many years, since Robin Van Persie. But if Arsene Wenger repeats his failings from 2012, then Arsenal could be in danger of regressing yet again. The signing of Lacazette is all well and good, but Arsenal MUST do everything in their power to keep – yet still, the finest player in the dressing room, Alexis Sanchez.
Sanchez recently said he knows where he will be playing next season, and is yet to reveal if he will be extending his contract at the Emirates.
Former Arsenal player Nigel Winterburn, told Sky Sports News HQ that it is imperative that Arsene Wenger retains his attacking players for next season and indeed he is right, Arsenal can ill-afford to lose Alexis seeing as he’s been their best player for the last couple years.
Wenger now finds himself in the same position he was five years ago with Robin Van Persie threatening to run down the last year of his deal. Wenger went on to spend £10m on an unknown quality who had just fired Montpellier to the French title, Olivier Giroud. Lets be fair, Olivier Giroud has been a fine servant to the club and has been excellent value five years on. He has given five good seasons at the Emirates scoring 98 goals in the process. It is no surprise as Giroud approaches his 31st birthday that teams around the Premier League are circulating for his signature.
To be honest, signing Giroud to replace Van Persie was a serious downgrade. At that point in time Van Persie was the best striker in the country, scoring 30 goals during the 2011-2012 season, the most by any Arsenal forward since the great Thierry Henry who scored 30 in the Invincible season.
Arsenal scored 74 goals that season, and it was just last season that they beat that total for the first time since Van Persie left. Only now, Arsenal are starting to find their cutting edge in front of goal again, because only now do they have a World-Class centre forward. Certainly, Giroud is a quality striker, but he’s not one that can win you a League title. The use of Sanchez as the main man up front gave Arsenal much more impetus last season. Arsenal are a completely different proposition with and without him in the team, which is the reason why he, unlike Mesut Ozil, is worth breaking their contract barrier for.
If Sanchez does leave Arsenal this summer, then Wenger will find himself in the same position he did when he sold Van Persie, no matter how quality Lacazette is. Arsenal may be a clinical side next season, but with Sanchez remaining – maybe, just maybe Arsenal could find a formula that could claim them the Premier League title.
Lets be honest, a Lacazette, Ozil and Sanchez attacking trio is what most teams could only dream of. A trio that could terrorise teams next season, and Wenger would be foolish to allow Sanchez to leave, especially if its to rivals Manchester City.
If Sanchez does leave the club, then Arsenal face the prospect of a long summer trying to replace him. Sure, the club have been linked with the likes of Monaco’s ace winger Thomas Lemar and Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez, but none of them can match the desire, the energy, the leadership, the determination and most importantly the ability to score incredible and crucial goals on his own. The only way to replace a world class player, unfortunately, is with world class. No disrespect to Mahrez and Lemar but they are nowhere the level and class of Alexis Sanchez – they are not at the ‘World Class’ level as of yet.
The signing of Alexandre Lacazette is a clear statement sent by Arsene Wenger in what could be a last chance saloon to embark on a serious assault on the Premier League. Lacazette has been the calibre striker Arsenal have been longing for, a striker who could win points on his own – his record over the past few seasons clearly shows he is capable. The signing of the Frenchman is a step forward, but selling Sanchez could represent two steps back.
Its clear, Arsenal must do everything in their power to keep Alexis Sanchez. Lose him, and Wenger can forget about ending his long Arsenal tenure with Premier League success.
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