Does Alexandre Lacazette deserve to start for Arsenal ?

It is something that many have been calling for all season long. I have been right at the front of the train, writing about it and talking about it ever since the preseason. And although Unai Emery persisted with the Frenchman on the bench, the pressure was building for a change.

Lacazette , He had a positive impact on every match, with the latest, against West Ham United, being the most substantial. Lacazette had made his case.

Today is the fourth match of the season, Emery the arsenal manager selected Lacazette as his starting centre-forward, shifting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out to the left flank to accommodate his new strike partner. In his first start of the season, Lacazette was given the chance to establish himself as a must-start candidate. He did not waste it.

The 3-2 win over Cardiff City was nervewracking at times. The performance was a little loose, there were defensive vulnerabilities present once again, and Cardiff can feel unfortunate that they did not get anything from the game. But there was one shining light for the Gunners that they can take great solace from: Lacazette. As Neil Warnock stated after the game, if Lacazette played for Cardiff and not Arsenal, his side would have won.

It was a striking clinic by Lacazette. Intelligent movement, strong hold-up play, awareness and creativity, accurate distribution, space-exploiting and space-engineering runs, both for himself and others, a ruthless, rifling finish that arrowed into the roof of the net to win the match late, an all-around lesson in how to play the centre-forward position.

It would be easy to focus on his powered finish or his deft flick for the second goal, but it is the awareness of his movement that I want to highlight. Take his goal, let look at this one ,It may not seem like much, but when he sees Lucas Torreira drifting inside with the ball, he takes a step away from the defender and turns his body slightly to the side, such that when he receives the ball, he can spin in behind the defender with space to unleash a shot on goal.

Similarly, for the first goal, Cardiff were defending deep with Arsenal having comfortable, unpressured possession just over the halfway line. Rather than looking to run into a channel in behind the defence, Lacazette dropped deep, pointed to his feet, with Mesut Ozil duly supplying him with the pass he wanted, and moved sideways a little to provide an angle for the pass. Little things that make a big difference.

5 things we learned

In celebrating his match winning strike, Luacazette took a bow. It was apt. This was a show. A true performance. A master at the art of striking. A lesson in how to play the position. And it was just wonderful to watch.