It looks like Arsenal finally have someone they can rely on to score and assist goals in the big games, with Alexandre Lacazette’s record speaking for itself since he joined last summer.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened his account against the ‘big six’ in the Tottenham Hotspur match at the weekend, with two goals and an assist against Arsenal’s local rivals. However, it’s his strike partner Lacazette who is proving a consistent danger in the Gunners’ big matches.
Since signing in the summer of 2017, Lacazette has only made six starts against the big six sides, for various reasons. Nonetheless, he has four goals and two assists against them. That includes goals against Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City, plus assists against Tottenham and Liverpool.
With a match against United coming up on Wednesday, Arsenal will need Lacazette to replicate that form once again. If you’re thinking of betting on the game, check out this review of bet365 first. It’s not just the Premier League matches where Arsenal have been able to rely on their striker to step up though.
In last season’s Europa League quarter and semi-finals, Lacazette scored three goals in four games. In the League Cup semi-final against Chelsea, he set up Granit Xhaka’s winning goal to send Arsenal to Wembley.
Unfortunately, Lacazette then suffered an injury and missed the League Cup final, and Jan Oblak’s masterful goalkeeping display ensured he could only score once in Arsenal’s tie with Atletico Madrid.
Was it the same story with Lyon?
In short, yes. In Lacazette’s final season with Lyon, the top-five teams in Ligue 1 were Monaco, PSG, Nice, Lyon and Marseille. In six appearances against these sides, the striker scored six goals, with at least one goal against each of them (except Lyon, obviously).
In the Europa League knockout stages that year, Lacazette was just as impressive. He scored at every stage, from the round-of-32 to Lyon’s elimination in the semi-finals, for a total of six goals and one assist.
It’s a shame for the striker that he’s had so few chances to feature in finals for Arsenal and Lyon, though he did start a 1-0 Coupe de France victory back in 2012.
Focusing back on Arsenal, if Aubameyang can also get a run going after his derby goals, he and Lacazette could push the club to finally get a run of results in these games. Let’s hope that’s the case on Wednesday.