Alexandre Lacazette has been confirmed to be returning to Lyon having spent five years with Arsenal. The club thanked him for his service but have decided to look in a new direction under manager Mikel Arteta.
Lacazette joined Arsenal in an attempt to take the number nine position to a different level, and was tasked with scoring more goals than what Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck had managed in previous seasons. However, Giroud would go on to win more than his Arsenal replacement could muster with Chelsea and Milan.
The Arsenal writers at football.london have had their say on the Frenchman’s career and perhaps hint towards what must come next. Let us know whether you agree with their thoughts in the comment section at the end of the piece.
READ MORE: Alexandre Lacazette signs for Lyon on free transfer after five-year Arsenal stay
Chris Davison - Arsenal Fan Brands Writer
Considering the transfer fee involved and the expectations it set, I just can't sit here and say Lacazette proved to be a success at Arsenal, at least not a big one anyway.
£52m was spent on a player whose job was to score goals and lead Arsenal back to where it belonged, yet after five years of playing in red and white, he failed to score more than 14 league goals, a number that simply isn't good enough. I expected much more for someone who was the club's record signing at the time.
71 goals overall in just over 200 appearances also doesn't look great, and again, I don't believe that matches the price paid. However, although his goalscoring prowess didn't carry on from his Ligue 1 days, I feel it would be harsh to say Lacazette wasn't a success at all.
He still scored goals, some of which were very important, provided assists, worked hard and set an example for his teammates to follow. He always gave his everything for Arsenal and for that I will always be thankful.
His leadership skills on and off the pitch will be missed and so will some of those sublime finishes, he sure knew how to find the back of the net when feeling confident. It's fair to say he never reached the heights we expected, but I wish Laca all the best at Lyon.
Tashan Deniran-Alleyne - Arsenal Writer
Alexandre Lacazette has some good moments in an Arsenal shirt, but ultimately his five-year stay was not a success and I would argue the decision to spend £46.5m on him was not a wise one. Whilst the decision to not offer him an extension and to allow him to leave on a free transfer is certainly the correct one, my biggest gripe is that Mikel Arteta and Edu have come to this realisation about two years too late.
I understand that Lacazette emerged as a leader, he was a good guy to have around and there was that impressive 2018/19 season, but let's not forget the main reason Arsene Wenger signed him - for a then club-record fee may I add - goals.
However, in five full seasons he never once managed to score 15 Premier League goals. That's simply not a good enough return especially when you consider all the noise surrounding Lacazette prior to his arrival that he was a prolific centre-forward.
A transfer that promised so much but delivered so little, Lacazette's task upon arriving at Arsenal was to emulate some French greats that paved the way for him and to fire the club back into the Champions League. Five years on and it's safe to say he fell short of those expectations.
HAVE YOUR SAY! What are your thoughts on Lacazette's Arsenal career? Leave a comment to let us know
Tom Canton - Arsenal Fan Brands Writer
I can appreciate the goals, the moments and the commitment that Alexandre Lacazette clearly brought to Arsenal. His association and appreciation for Arsenal cannot be questioned and he gave everything he could throughout his time here.
However, I cannot speak about Lacazette’s time with the club without being critical of how the striker's role changed and yet saw the club regress. Giroud performed and kept the club in the Champions League, however with Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s arrival, suddenly that fell away.
It was the arrival of Aubameyang who for me, unintentionally, prevented Lacazette from perhaps fulfilling his Arsenal career. Had the Gunners invested in a creative wide forward instead of shoehorning the Gabonese striker, because that was his best position not left-wing, into that role, then maybe Laca’s time with Arsenal and the overall success of the side might have been different.
Now, Arteta needs to get his acquisitions this summer to complete the Arsenal attack right. Risking a repeat of the mistakes of the 2017/18 season’s recruitment might set the club back again and prevent the revival that appears to be brewing.
Bailey Keogh - Arsenal Fan Brands Writer
Alexandre Lacazette’s tenure at Arsenal unfortunately can only be looked at as a failure since joining the club in 2017. For £50m, the Gunners did not reap the success that replicates the fee they paid.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s instant impact as an Arsenal player six months after the arrival of Lacazette emphasised the failure of the Frenchman. Aubameyang was offering what Lacazette couldn’t – goals.
There was a lot of anticipation surrounding his arrival after being such a dominant presence for Lyon in the forward line, but he has been unable to replicate that at Arsenal. His signing was supposed to be a breath of fresh air after replacing Olivier Giroud, with fans thinking the Gunners had finally acquired a world-class striker, but this was not the case as Giroud has boasted a better goal scoring record.
All in all, you cannot question Lacazette’s commitment and work rate for the team. But unfortunately, a top-class striker is solely judged on the number of goals he has scored and he has simply not contributed enough in the last five years.
Be sure to join in the debate by leaving a comment with your thoughts on Lacazette's time at Arsenal
