The Arsenal “goal machine” who left on a free & is now outscoring Saka
The dynamic attacker has been one of the most inform players in Europe over the last two years.
Arsenal are a club that have improved in almost every department over the last few years, be that behind the scenes, on the pitch or competing for sought-after players in the transfer market.
Granted, the Gunners were a real mess a few years ago, but the turnaround has been impressive to say the least, yet there is one area that the club still struggle with; selling players.
Whether it’s an inability to offload ageing stars like Mesut Ozil or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or selling players for well below their market value like with Granit Xhaka, the Gunners just haven’t ever been able to crack that aspect of the modern game.
However, there is a player who was allowed to leave for nothing just a couple of years ago who has gone on to outscore Bukayo Saka since.
Alexandre Lacazette at Arsenal
The player in question is French striker Alexandre Lacazette, who has been playing like a man-possessed for Lyon over the last two seasons.
However, before his return to France, he spent five years donning the red and white of Arsenal, and while he might not be remembered as one of the most prolific of nines, he was undeniably talented.
In his first season for the club following his £47m move from Lyon, the then-26-year-old managed to score 14 goals in 26 Premier League starts, and while it was an impressive beginning to his career in England, it would also remain his highest league return while playing for the Gunners.
In all, he would make 206 appearances for the club, score 71 goals and provide 36 assists, meaning he left north London averaging 0.51 goal involvements per game, although those numbers were skewed by a significantly more productive first couple of years for the club.
Alexandre Lacazette at Lyon
It was announced in June 2022 that, after five years at the club, Lacazette was heading back to France to rejoin his old club, Lyon, on a free.
While he was a popular player among Arsenal fans for the effort he put in during games, his departure wasn’t really seen as a problem due to his lacklustre return over the previous season.
However, his awe-inspiring performances throughout the 2022/23 campaign likely led to those same fans questioning if he should’ve been allowed to leave at all.
In all, the Lyon-born “goal machine”, as former teammate Sokratis described him, made 39 appearances in all competitions in the 2022/23 season, scored 31 goals, and provided six assists.
While his rate of return has somewhat slowed this year, it’s still well above what fans would have expected.
In comparison, Arsenal’s star boy, Saka, who has been on fire himself over the last few years, managed to score 15 goals and provide 11 assists last season and has reached 24 goal involvements this season.
At the end of the day, most fans and managers would still rather have the young Englishman in their squad over Lacazette, and rightly so, but the prolific nature of the 32-year-old over the last two campaigns begs the question, should he have been let go at all?
Ultimately, only Arteta will know the true answer, but with the recent talk of Arsenal’s need for a new number nine, you can’t help but wonder.