Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette recently admitted he could have become a goalkeeper, if not for his mother’s intervention.

The French international has said that he used to enjoy playing in goals when he was a kid, but his mother wasn’t as keen on the position as he was.

“I did like playing in goal when I was young but my mum wasn’t very keen as she thought being a goalie was too dangerous,” he said, reports the Daily Star. “She said that I either played as a forward or not at all.”

The positional change turned out to be a good move. Lacazette would progress through the youth ranks at Lyon into the first-team, before developing into one of Europe’s prolific strikers.

He scored 129 goals in 275 appearances for Lyon, and currently has four goals in eight appearances for Arsenal. His cold-blooded nature in front of goal, though, perhaps isn’t a reflection of how he really feels.

“Sometimes I was embarrassed for the opposition if there was a huge goal difference between the two teams but that didn’t happen all the time. I suppose temperament-wise, I was quite reserved. I still am. I just liked playing football with my friends.

“If we lost, of course I was sad. I used to cry at the slightest negative thing. Don’t worry, it’s changed now!” Lacazette is currently with the France national team for their final two World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Belarus.

Wins in both games will ensure that France wins Group A and avoid the hassle of a play-off in November. He’ll return to club action when Arsenal travel to Watford on Saturday, October 14.

He’s yet to score a goal away from home for Arsenal and will be looking to ripple the back of the net in the Gunners’ next away outing, having failed to find the net in the 2-0 win over Brighton.