A (hopefully) short thread on Che Adams, a player I believe can replace Alexandre Lacazette at Arsenal

Firstly, lets look at at Lacazette and the type of Striker he is

Laca is a striker who drops deep into midfield to recieve the ball, link the play and make space for Aubameyang. He isn't a big goalscorer, although since Auba has gone on a drought he has stepped up this season

Che Adams is similar in that he likes to come deeper to link the play, but not as deep as Lacazette would. Looking through his average positions, Adams plays best when Ings drops deeper and he can be the furthest forward.

Here are heatmaps of the two players. On the left is Adams and on the right is Lacazette.

As we can see, Laca drops a lot deeper, but is also in the box more often. Also we see Laca drifts into the right halfspace, while Adams usually drifts to the left

As this chart shows us, Adams is less of a goal threat but more of a creative outlet than Lacazette

Laca is performing nearly exactly as the xG says he should, underperforming by only 0.01. Adams however is struggling to find the back of the net and is underperforming by 0.07.

Looking into this in more context, Che Adams is more of the creator for Ings. At Arsenal, especially recently, Lacazette has become more of a focal point, someone chances are being made for more consistently. If Adams joined Arsenal I'd suspect his xG and then G/90 to shoot up.

Heres how he compares to some other Arsenal players:

•Similar to Saka but less involved in buildup

•Clearly more creative than Aubameyang

•Offers a lot more than Pepe other than goalscoring but Pepe's minutes skew it

•Similar to Willian but offers far more of a threat

Something Lacazette doesn't get enough credit for is his defensive workrate. He is very good at pressing and winning the ball up high.

Other than interceptions, Adams is better in nearly every other department defensively.

This, again, shows how much more creative Che is. Lacazette is a lot more of a safe player who you can kick the ball to, it will stick to his feet and he'll lay off to a midfielder or winger.

Adams is more of an attacking midfielder who plays at striker, like the Bergkamp role.

Che Adams is 5 years younger than Lacazette ane he is home grown. If played our 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 i believe he would thrive, instead of playing as a second striker in a 4-4-2, making chances for Ings

He could also drop deeper and play Saka and Aubameyang or Martinelli or whoever else plays on the left.

I believe he would be an ideal replacement for Lacazette

Heres a short video of some of his goals, assists and chances

Well I think this is the end of the thread. Thanks for reading, likes and retweets are always appreciated

Sources used: Sofascore for heatmaps, Understat for stat radars, Premier League App.