Alexandre Lacazette should choose snub Arsenal for Liverpool

Alexandre Lacazette would be better off heading to Liverpool instead of Arsenal

All signs are pointing to Alexandre Lacazette becoming an Arsenal player by the end of the week. If he were smart, he’d opt to join Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool revolution instead.

Various reports claim that Arsenal have chosen to activate the French striker’s release clause and will win the race for his services sooner rather than later. That doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for the prolific striker though.

If Lacazette were really thinking properly, he’d see that Liverpool represents a much better option for his future. He would arrive at Anfield with a much better chance to grow at his own pace than he will enjoy in North London.

When Lacazette arrives at The Emirates, he will immediately have immense expectations heaped upon him to deliver a boatload of goals almost immediately. He will be seen by the Gunner fan base as the answer to their striker prayers. He will represent Arsene Wenger’s final capitulation to the deafening demands of Arsenal fans who insisted he spend big on a centre forward.

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I fear that those expectations might be enough to crush Lacazette’s career before it ever gets started in the Premier League. In a great twist of irony, he’ll be expected to replace a striker, Olivier Giroud, that is currently keeping him out of the lineup for the French national team.

In great contrast, Lacazette could move to Liverpool under much less pressure. He’d be viewed as part of a greater club shift engineered by the club’s charismatic manager Jurgen Klopp. A slow start wouldn’t cause the Anfield faithful to turn on him en mass, he’d get a little measure of time to adjust to life in England’s top flight.

He will have more attacking talent to play alongside at Arsenal, but it’s not as if Liverpool won’t score a ton of goals next season as well. Klopp’s club will achieve a high goal tally by their trademark high press, whereas Arsenal will achieve theirs through their usual possession based football. The breakneck pace of Liverpool also favors Lacazette’s game.

Lacazette is not a physically dominant player up top that’s going to dominate opponents in the air. He likes to use his pace and guile to find space and can be devastating on the break. He’d get a lot more opportunity to run into open space at Liverpool than Arsenal.

Alexandre Lacazette is going to arrive at Arsenal with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He might just be crushed under the weight of those massive expectations. It’s too bad he can’t ease into a prominent role at Liverpool instead.