Analysis of Alexandre Lacazette's performance during Arsenal versus Liverpool

Sooraj Kamath - Writer 08:00 04/11/2018
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  • Alexandre Lacazette struck a late equaliser as Arsenal and Liverpool shared the spoils in an entertaining Premier League clash.

    Liverpool looked to be going three points clear at the top of the table after James Milner’s 50th career Premier League goal had set them on course for victory.

    But Arsenal rallied and deservedly secured themselves a 1-1 draw as Lacazette wriggled free inside the box before curling home with eight minutes remaining.

    Here, we take a closer look at the Frenchman’s performance.

    STATISTICS

    Shots: 4

    Goals: 1

    Assists: 0

    Passes (accuracy): 20 (80%)

    Dribbles: 0

    Tackles: 1

    Dispossessed: 1

    30-SECOND REPORT

    James Milner’s opener just after the hour mark looked set to send Liverpool to the top of the table.

    However, their lead only lasted 21 minutes as Lacazette pounced on a cleverly weighed ball from Alex Iwobi to curl a shot around Alisson to make it 1-1.

    Alexandre Lacazette

    Alexandre Lacazette

    Need for a hybrid striker?

    Football has seen numerous innovations in the past decade with the introduction of attacking full-backs, ball-playing centre-backs, inverted-wingers, sweeper keepers and so on.

    One such innovation, is that of hybrid strikers. A traditional striker such as Robert Lewandowski and in this particular case Lacazette is employed just to score goals. Lacazette can go 88 minutes without a single good touch and then decide the game in an instant of pure magic.

    On the other hand, there are hybrid strikers such as Oliver Giroud and Karim Benzema who are influential in the build-up and can play a key role even in games where they don’t score any goals. Lacazette displayed no such involvement in the game but whether it’s mandatory for a traditional striker to be involved in anything, scoring is a different question altogether.

    Off-the-ball movement

    Players like Luis Suarez and Romelu Lukaku occupy defenders by means of intelligent positioning and dummy runs. However, Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez had a relatively easy day at the office due to Lacazette’s inability to trouble them when out of possession. Incredible off-the-ball movement is yet another key element of a hybrid striker that the Frenchman lacks.

    Aubameyang’s sacrifice

    It was said that the striking duo of Aubameyang and Lacazette wouldn’t succeed in cohesion due to some similarities in their style. But the Gabon international has tweaked his game in order to accommodate Lacazette. Aubameyang now operates as a winger or wide midfielder on the left and is involved in the build-up more.

    This tactical change by Unai Emery has been implemented well by Aubameyang and has paid dividends for the Gunners.

    VERDICT

    All said, a striker meets his expectation once he gets his name on the scoresheet and the circumstances are irrelevant. Arsenal’s incredible display of attacking football: Aubameyang’s threat on the left wing, Torreira’s domination of Fabinho and Alex Iwobi’s wonderful substitute performance would have all amounted to nothing had Lacazette’s shot gone inches wide. A hybrid striker is highly appreciated but the role of a traditional number nine, like that of Lacazette’s against Liverpool cannot be downplayed.

    8/10

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