adminLONDON. – Maybe it’s always been his destiny. It was at the Emirates Stadium that Alexandre Lacazette made his first steps with Olympique Lyonnais’ senior squad, at the Emirates Cup almost seven years ago.
The then-19-year-old had one heck of a weekend; after heading the winner for France in the European Under-19 Championship final against Spain on the Friday night in Caen, he enjoyed a modest celebration with the squad before getting the Eurostar to London at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning. Lacazette played for Lyon against Celtic just after lunchtime, before making it a hat-trick by turning out against Milan on Sunday.
All this time later, that big weekend still captures the essence of Lacazette in a nutshell. He ticks most of the boxes that Arsenal supporters could want in an A-list centre-forward – an intelligent, tough all-rounder with excellent experience and a sublime finisher – but it is his industry which defines his career path, and which suggests he should adapt to the physical demands of the English Premier League in good time.
Lyon’s Tola Vologe academy is renowned for the quality it produces. Lacazette’s close friend Samuel Umtiti, for example, was comfortably Barcelona’s best signing of a shoddy summer window in 2016. Yet unlike Umtiti or the previous occupant of his number 10 shirt at Lyon, Karim Benzema, Lacazette was no irresistible prodigy. He has grafted every step of the way to get here.
Following that eye-catching start to first-team life in London, he struggled to win the unconditional faith of coach Claude Puel. Back then, Lacazette was a winger, who later under Rémi Garde grew into a player in the mould of previous OL academy graduate Sidney Govou as he started to cement his place in the squad.
As with Govou, he was a player who would put in a shift regardless of the sort of touch he was in, and who could pitch in with important goals – as he did with the winner in a 2012 Champions League last 16 tie against APOEL – without truly threatening to become a regular goalscorer. – The Independent.
Online Reporter
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