Alexandre Lacazette sees his contract with Arsenal expire at the end of the season. Many discussions have been had as to whether the club should extend his deal or look beyond the 30-year-old despite having only Folarin Balogun as a senior option this summer.
Mikel Arteta has been very coy when asked on the subject and has maintained that conversations will wait until the end of the season. Arsenal face a nervous final ten games in which an injury to the forward could end their hopes of a top-four finish.
With all the furore surrounding who Arsenal might look to bring in and whether Lacazette will leave, getting into the mindset of someone who knows the expectations of the club was important. Emmanuel Petit is one such player. He won the 1997/98 Premier League title under Arsene Wenger, servicing forwards such as Ian Wright, Nicolas Anelka and Dennis Bergkamp and believes something is missing from Mikel Arteta’s current squad.
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“Victory is back. Confidence is back as well into the team. So many individuals are enjoying the way they are playing on the pitch. They’re still missing the last step. Being clinical. Getting a proper striker who can score goals week after week,” the former France international exclusively tells football.london .
Alexandre Lacazette is leading the line at present and has seven assists in his last 12 games plus two goals. However, it is this latter statistic that stands out. A top-four side with ambitions of rising to the top again needs greater output.
Yet, Petit was adamant that whilst he believes Arsenal need to bring in a forward who can score more goals, he still has a great appreciation for their current number nine. Highlighting the benefits he brings to the young players in the side.
“Don’t misunderstand me, I’m a huge fan of Alexandre Lacazette, I think he’s doing a great job with Arsenal,” he said. “With [Gabriel] Martinelli, with [Bukayo] Saka, [Emile] Smith-Rowe and [Martin] Odegaard. But when you look at the top scorer table you have three Liverpool players in the top ten. You have two Tottenham players in the top ten. And when you look at Manchester City they have four or five players who can score between ten and fifteen goals.”
Petit recognises the gap between Arsenal and the lofty heights of the title challengers. This is where the club must aim and club director and son of owner Stan Kroenke, Josh Kroenke, not so long ago said this was very much the objective.
To do so, further improvements to the squad are needed. Detailing however what those upgrades are and who can fulfil them is the challenge.
“Yes, I do believe that,” Petit replied when asked if Arsenal need a forward who can combine the strengths of Lacazette with a player who can add the finishing touch. He continued by giving his verdict on the striker’s contract and argued the club should extend his deal.
“I think Arsenal should propose a new contract to Lacazette because I think he is a very good teammate with proper qualities upfront. But he is not a great finisher. I think he is very helpful for his teammates. In terms of fluidity. In terms of relationship upfront,” Petit added.
The statistics certainly support Petit. Lacazette has four goals this season with an xG of 7.7 according to FBRef. The question then points towards what Arsenal need and a contrast to what Arsenal’s current offering provides is the feeling of the former Gunners midfielder.
“Definitely, they need to get a new striker. A different one. Someone who can bring something different into the team but on top of that, someone who can score goals. Not every weekend but most of them.”
A tough challenge. Qualifying for the Champions League will give Arsenal the foundation to compete in the market for such a striker. This certainly puts even more pressure on the team to finish the season strongly and open more doors for potential candidates.
Once done, the emphasis switches to manager Mikel Arteta and technical director Edu to secure their top targets. A job they failed to achieve in January regarding Dusan Vlahovic who eventually moved to Juventus. Arsenal need to ensure they get the players that fit what is being built or suffer from the problems of their past once again.
Emmanuel Petit was speaking to Football.London in conjunction with Lord Ping.
