In the modern age, there is so much information available about footballers that hardly anything about them is a mystery. However, despite the amount of information floating around, one Arsenal player seems to have flown under the radar until recently. That player is Alexandre Lacazette, who may be the most influential player at the Emirates.

Alexandre Lacazette: Key to Arsenal’s Attack

Big Fish, Small Pond

While the French striker arrived in north London as Arsenal’s record signing (until Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang‘s arrival), he didn’t make as many waves as expected. He came to the club on the back of three consecutive 30-goal seasons in Ligue 1 with Lyon.

In that first campaign in England, Lacazette struggled to find form at times, finishing with a relatively paltry 14 league goals. For perspective, in just half of a season, Aubameyang netted 10 goals for Arsenal.

There are a few reasons for this regression. First, the Premier League is of a higher calibre than Ligue 1, making his first season a bit of a transition season. Second, he struggled with a knee injury throughout that inaugural year, and had to undergo arthroscopic surgery to correct it, missing six weeks in the process.

Finally, he just didn’t have the same confidence under Arsene Wenger that he has under Unai Emery. One can easily observe the difference in body language when he is on the pitch.

Last season, his shoulders were often slumped in frustration when things wouldn’t go his way and he sometimes shirked easy chances, betraying his inner thoughts. However, this season such behaviour has all but stopped.

Even when he is having a bad game, Lacazette always keeps his head high. He also doesn’t get discouraged when he isn’t scoring goals, instead, he looks to help his club in other ways, such as with an assist or even a timely tackle.

He is one of a few players who have undergone such a change. This increased confidence is showing in his goal and assist returns as well.

Sophomore Surge

Alexandre Lacazette has made the same number of league appearances this season as last, 32. While he is one shy of his goal tally from last year, he has doubled his assists return. In fact, he is outperforming his xA (expected assists), which is a difficult task to accomplish.

As shown above, Lacazette isn’t just edging out his xA, he has shattered it, more than doubling his expected return. Meanwhile, he is also outperforming his xG (expected goals) rating, which means that he has also found a clinical edge in front of net.

However, it is his improved passing which is most impressive about Lacazette’s season. A slightly closer look at his advanced statistics confirms as much.

It is obvious that the former Lyon striker is hugely influential in Arsenal’s build-up play. His xGBuildup90 (total xG of every possession per match the player is involved with not including key passes and shots) stands at .34, while the average is just .13. Lacazette’s A90 (assists per match) is similarly impressive, a .32 compared to an average of .13.

His KP90 (key passes per match) is also fairly impressive considering the fact Lacazette is a striker and not a number ten.

“Secret” Weapon

While being a striker at a top Premier League club doesn’t allow for anonymity, Alexandre Lacazette doesn’t quite get the praise he deserves. Aubameyang is the one who scores more goals, and who therefore gets more of the limelight. However, the Frenchman clearly does more of the dirty work to help his team.

His positional awareness allows his teammates to run off him, something Aubameyang doesn’t do well, and brings them into the attack. He is also finding the key passes to unlock opponent defences, something Mesut Ozil hasn’t done this season.

If Arsenal are to qualify for next season’s Champions League, it will be in large part in thanks to Alexandre Lacazette and his hugely improved form.

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