Lacazette or Nketiah: Who should be first-choice striker for the big matches?

                                 

Alexandre Lacazette or Eddie Nketiah: Who should be Arsenal's first-choice striker for the big matches?

By Adam Le Roux

Arsenal fans seem to be split into two camps at the moment, are you an Eddie admirer, or a Laca lover?

The striker scenario has been an ongoing source of debate among Gunners fans throughout the season, with Mikel Arteta seemingly unable to decide between Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah for the starting berth.

Both marksmen have three goals to their name this season, although the Frenchman’s all came in a three-game burst back in September, while the academy product has found the net in three separate competitions.

But when it comes to the big games, who would you go for? Experience or exuberance? Both have their qualities and both have their flaws, but is it time for a changing of the guard in the Gunners’ frontline?

Laca-daisical?

It has been far from a prolific campaign for any of Arsenal’s strikers to date, with just nine Premier League goals from eight matches so far, heading into this weekend’s clash with Leeds United.

Lacazette has got a third of those, with strikes against Fulham, West Ham and Liverpool seeing the 29-year-old start the season with three goals in as many league matches, but since then the goals have dried up.

Confidence could be a factor, with the Frenchman missing at least one gilt-edged opportunity in the match at Anfield, as he failed to beat Alisson when sent through one-on-one, but the former Lyon man is cutting a frustrated figure up front recently.

The fluidity and zip of the forward play hasn’t been up to the lofty standards Arsenal have set themselves in recent years, with Lacazette looking uninterested at times, and when the results aren’t going your way, that demeanour becomes harder and harder to ignore. 

Everyone is well aware of how well he can perform on his day, but those days seem to be fewer and further between, with the Gunners failing to score from open play in each of their last four Premier League matches.

And with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang shoehorned down the right-hand side of the front three to accommodate the Frenchman in the central role, an under-performing Lacazette has an effect on the attacking force as a whole.

With Roma rumoured to have tabled a bid for the striker in the summer, could his head have been turned by transfer talk? We’ll have to wait for January to see, but his current six-match barren spell has left cause for concern ahead of the festive period.

Ready, Eddie, Go!

It seems to be one or the other for Mikel Arteta at the moment, with Nketiah replacing the Lacazette in five of the latter’s seven Premier League appearances so far this season,

The two strikers have been on the pitch together for less than 20 minutes of league action this campaign, with an extra hour in the 2-1 victory over Rapid Vienna in the Europa League before the Englishman was substituted.

With Eddie you know what you are going to get - energy and bags of it. The 21-year-old is like a one-man firework display on the pitch, with his feet never seeming to stop moving.

Whether it is running the channels or darting behind defenders, the ex-Leeds loanee looks to have all the makings of a potent goalscorer, it’s just a case of being given the opportunity.

The England Under-21 international’s intelligence on the football pitch is clear, and even at a young age seems to have a wise head on his shoulders, with his choice and timing of runs creating space in the attacking third. 

Yes, his three goals against Dundalk, West Ham and Leicester City in the Carabao Cup have all come from the combined distance of about ten yards, but it highlights the nous to be in the right time at the right place that so many strikers of the past have in their locker.

Another brace at international level as England’s next generation defeated Albania U21s 5-0 this week is testament to the goalscoring instinct he possesses, with his first being a typical poacher’s effort as he made the most of a loose ball in the penalty area to slot home.

An earlier goal was ruled out for offside before the striker was upended for a penalty later in the game after another immaculately timed run to unlock the visitors’ backline.

He may have missed the spot-kick, but the confidence to keep searching for the ball showed exactly the character Arsenal need up front, and the sublime finish for his second after cutting in on his right foot will have left a lot of Gunners fans wanting to see more of the young striker as the season progresses.

What will Arteta do?

The longer this dry spell for the Gunners continues, the more Arsenal fans will be looking to their manager to make changes to the frontline, regardless of reputation.

Lacazette may well have been a regular at the Emirates for the last three seasons since his move from Ligue 1 but every good manager must admit when things need a spruce up, and now may well be that time.

With Bukayo Saka and Willian added to the mix, Arteta has a plethora of attacking talent at his disposal, as well as the returning Gabriel Martinelli in the new year.

But the chopping and changing of the front three seems to be doing nobody any favours at the moment and with a number of big games coming up it is pivotal that the squad becomes settled.

Arsenal travel to Spurs at the start of December for the North London Derby, and if Lacazette hasn’t rediscovered his scoring form before then, surely it is time for Nketiah to step up to the plate and displace the elder statesman.

We all know what a Jose Mourinho side will set up like and the younger, fresher striker could well be the key that unlocks the stingy Spurs defence when the two sides go head to head.

Despite his young age he shows no sign of being daunted by the occasion and after five years without a victory for the Gunners at the home of the noisy neighbours, no-one will be more eager to make their mark than the academy graduate.