According to a recent report by The Sun, Arsenal’s French international striker Alexandre Lacazette could be on the verge of return from an injury that he suffered at the start of September. Despite having missed more than a month and a half of Premier League action, Unai Emery will be keen to incorporate him back into the side as the Gunners travel to Bramall Lane on Monday night.
The situation at hand
A trip to face Sheffield United was never going to be a cakewalk for any of the Premier League sides and the Gunners’ fierce rivals Chelsea will vouch for that point first-hand. The Blades will definitely show various degrees of resistance over the 90 minutes, but the Arsenal faithful will be hoping that the firepower they possess will be enough to see them through.
In Alexandre Lacazette’s absence, Arsenal haven’t been in the best of forms. Despite having managed to pick up 8 points out of a possible 12, it has to said that they were quite lucky to get maximum points against Bournemouth last time out. Before that as well, without Lacazette available for selection, the Gunners played out a drab 1-1 draw against Manchester United.
What he adds to the side
The Frenchman’s ability to read teammates’ movements and time his forward runs accordingly is what sets him apart from the rest of the Premier League strikers. He could be best described as a blend between Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero – arguably the deadliest strikers in the league. Given an opportunity in front of goal, like Aguero, the Frenchman tends to take his chances. The amount of work he puts into guarding the ball and maintaining possession for his side helps him mimic some of Kane’s best qualities as well.
Arsenal have lacked a killer touch in front of goal despite the reassuring presence of Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The re-introduction of Lacazette into the mix will definitely come as good news to Unai Emery and his backroom staff. The talismanic forward tends to set the tone of play with his high-pressing and also can change the game with just a moment of brilliance.
Will he add enough firepower?
Sheffield United are one of the Premier League clubs who have a rather distinct set of tactics. Often seen playing five at the back, the Blades tend to let the full-backs overlap on every possible opportunity. To make things worse for the Gunners’ unstable defence, Chris Wilder allows the two outside centre-halves to overlap the full-backs on every possible occasion.
All this means that the Gunners will have to be extremely careful in the number of bodies they commit forward. Although this is the case, given the right moment, this Arsenal team do have the right personnel to break down the adventurous Sheffield United defence line.
Aubameyang has struggled to make a proper impact in recent weeks because of the lack of quality around him. With the Frenchman set to return to first-team action, it could be the start of a good period for this Arsenal side.
