Is Lacazette’s form this season a major concern?

We all know that Lacazette has been a shadow of the player he was last season, which saw him swoop the clubs Player of the Season award as a result of a fantastic campaign where he bagged 19 goals and 13 assists in 49 games. Considering this I think the fans should get behind him a bit more as this will help guide him back into his best form.

This season has been a slightly different story for the Frenchman as he picked up an ankle injury during the Emirates Cup game against his former club Lyon, which disrupted his start to the campaign and meant he missed at least 6 weeks. Since his return, he hasn’t quite looked the same player, with some questionable finishing at times leading to some fans calling for him to be sold! In this blog I will be looking at his statistics throughout this season so far and be giving my opinion on whether he can fill the void in Aubameyang’s absence.

Does he sacrifice himself for the team?

We have seen on multiple occasions over the last couple of years, Lacazette dropping deeper to pick up the ball while Aubameyang makes a more central run which in effect means the Frenchman is further away from the goal then he usually would be. With the latest example being against Crystal Palace where Lacazette got the assist for our goal. This definitely affects his record in front of goal as it means he’s not always in the correct position to put the ball in the net, this is due to all the work during the build up he does. This has been made apparent this season as he’s got 6 goals and two assists in 19 games. In my opinion, Lacazette does sacrifice himself for not only Aubameyang, but the team. Even though it seems as if Aubameyang is the one who’s out of position, Lacazette has to drop almost into the number 10 position most games in order to create chances for his teammates and as a result allows Aubameyang to thrive. This is supported by the fact that this campaign he has managed an average of 7 touches a game in the opposition penalty area compared to 8.02 in his first season and 7.29 last year. I do agree with the fans that say he needs to be more clinical in front of goal when presented the chance, however I feel most people are being very harsh on him this season.

All round play

What Lacazette brings to the team in terms of work rate, linking up the midfield to the attack and leadership is vital for the way we play, especially under Arteta’s new high pressing tactics. Every game, fans know that he will put 100% effort in and hassle defenders to try and win the ball high up the pitch which most strikers don’t do nowadays and is one of the reasons why I believe Lacazette is a player we cannot afford to lose. Not only this, but when he’s at his best, he drops deep and demands the ball to feet with his back to goal, using clever flicks and turns in order to lose his man. Combining these attributes with his eye for a pass makes him the closest player to Firmino in the Premier League and look how highly Liverpool fans rate him! Lastly, his leadership on the pitch is brilliant as he sets the tone for how much we press and gets other players working through leading by example. For these reasons I really wouldn’t want to sell Lacazette in the summer and I would really like to see him sign a contract extension as there aren’t many players of his calibre that we could replace him with.

Form in front of goal

Compared to his first two seasons his goals per 90 minutes are considerable less this campaign, as in 2017/18 he averaged just over 0.55 goals per 90 minutes, then in 2018/19 just over 0.45 leading us to this season where he’s averaged just below 0.40 goals per 90 minutes. It is showing a steady decline and may be a result of having to drop so deep during games as when a chance falls his way, he is snatching at it due to not knowing when his next one will come. His shot conversion definitely supports the fact that he is wasting his chances, as in his first season he managed a 20.6% conversion rate, in his second season it was at 16.1%, then this season it’s gone down again to 14.3%. There is a considerable decline in all of his shooting stats and is most likely down to his change of roles since Aubameyang has arrived.

Overall, I still believe Lacazette is the correct player to be leading our front line and is worth pushing Aubameyang out wide for as he perfectly fits the mould for our high intensity game. Even though his goal scoring has gotten slightly worse than when he first arrived, when he gets back into form the goals will start to flow more regularly again and he will remind everyone as to why he was our best player last season. In the absence of Aubameyang I fully back the Frenchman to help us fill the void of his goals while contributing as much to the all round play as he usually does!

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James Humphreys