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[THREAD] A strong goalscoring start, then a considerable lull, and now enjoying some of his best Arsenal form to date. A look at Alexandre Lacazette’s 20/21 season so far.
![[THREAD] A strong goalscoring start, then a considerable lull, and now enjoying some of his best Arsenal form to date. A look at Alexandre Lacazette’s 20/21 season so far.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErZar_1W8AY-Ud0.jpg "[THREAD] A strong goalscoring start, then a considerable lull, and now enjoying some of his best Arsenal form to date. A look at Alexandre Lacazette’s 20/21 season so far.")
Despite an attractive offer from Serie A side AS Roma, Mikel Arteta opted against letting Lacazette leave Arsenal last Summer. The Frenchman went on to start the Gunners’ first 4 games of the season scoring 3 goals.
Operating as a centre-forward in a 3-4-3, Laca’s early season goalscoring output must be commended. The 29 y/o was deployed in more of a false nine role early in the season so often had to drop deep, yet, he took his few chances well considerably outperforming his 1.8 xG.
However, Lacazette then seemed to hit a wall. The striker missed a couple of guilt-edged opportunities against Liverpool which appeared to knock his confidence. Simultaneously, fans were calling for Auba to get a chance through the middle lamenting Laca for standing in his way.
After his goal at Anfield, Lacazette went 11 Premier League games without scoring. He was in and out of the side, looked uncomfortable during a brief spell as a make-shift no. 10 and many thought his time was up at Arsenal. He looked off the pace both physically and technically.
In recent weeks, however, he’s experienced a sharp upturn in form. The former Lyon striker has scored 4 of Arsenal’s last 8 league goals and looks to be benefitting from Mikel Arteta’s choice to introduce Emile Smith Rowe into the starting XI.
Despite his period out of the goals, his underlying metrics insinuate Lacazette is enjoying one of his best seasons in his professional career so far. His average of 0.73 goals/90 is significantly better than any of his previous three seasons in north London.
In terms of expected goals, Lacazette is also having his best Arsenal season so far. In his first season he registered 0.48 xG/90, 0.42 in his second and 0.41 last campaign. This year, he’s performing at a rate of 0.52 xG/90.
The xG numbers indicate Laca is getting into better attacking positions, consistently, than ever before since joining Arsenal. Furthermore, despite only taking 2.4 shots/90 this season in comparison to 2.91 in 18/19, his strike rate/90 is up 0.29. Efficient.
On top of this, we know Lacazette offers so much more than just goals. Defensively, Lacazette is clearly working hard having completed 1.67 tackles/90, 5.31 successful pressing actions/90 and 0.73 interceptions/90 so far this year. Important work off the ball.
Interestingly, where Lacazette is lacking this season is creatively. His xA/90 of a mere 0.06 is his lowest xA rate since joining the club, his key pass number of 0.94/90 is similarly low. Although this can be partially attributed to the team’s overall poor offensive performance.
Nevertheless, what we’ve been calling for from Lacazette since he joined Arsenal is more goals. More goals is exactly what Lacazette is offering at the moment. He looks full of confidence and as sharp as ever.
Of course, the caveat to this thread is the sample size. Lacazette has completed just 9.6 90s this season. He’s averaged 24.4 since 17/18. However, if he can sustain his form, Lacazette will register his best campaign statistically since moving to England from France.
As someone who wrote Lacazette off at the start of the season, his impressive numbers and recent strong form are representative of a pleasant surprise. Long may the Laca remontada continue.
[END OF THREAD]
Thank you if you’ve taken the time out of your day to have a read of this analysis. If you enjoyed it, I’d really appreciate it if you retweeted/liked my work. Cheers
![[END OF THREAD]Thank you if you’ve taken the time out of your day to have a read of this analysis. If you enjoyed it, I’d really appreciate it if you retweeted/liked my work. Cheers](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErZaugAW4AIo9o3.jpg "[END OF THREAD]Thank you if you’ve taken the time out of your day to have a read of this analysis. If you enjoyed it, I’d really appreciate it if you retweeted/liked my work. Cheers")
Thank you if you’ve taken the time out of your day to have a read of this analysis. If you enjoyed it, I’d really appreciate it if you retweeted/liked my work. Cheers
Likes/RTs appreciated @ltarsenal @watmanAFC @LeGrove @afclucy @arsenalnewsasit @WorldwideAFC @afcjxmes @PainInThArsenal @AFCMax9 @afcstuff @DailyAFC @afcDW @TheArsenalog @arsenalrising @arseblog
Apologies. This is Laca’s goals/90 in each season since joining Arsenal. These are the stats which are supposed to be on the picture with xG/90 figures on it.
