Arsenal FC missed what would have been their first Premier League trophy to Leicester City since they completed the invincible year of 2004 following the fall of big guns such as Chelsea, Man United and Man City.
The fathomless form of these big guns attracted locked eyes on Arsenal as hopes were high to see them through to grab the trophy last season but Arsene Wenger and his charges were as poor as you could imagine with a lot of wasting opportunities to record positive results to clinch the league.
Despite their possessive football which made them the club with most chances created (464) in the whole season, none of these chances helped Arsenal to record wins at crucial moments and going on goal scoring drought for number of times.
Olivier Giroud, the sole forward billed to score goals for Arsenal was missing in many games and players around him were not helpful enough in-front of goal by scoring just 65 as total in the whole season.
Mesut Ozil broke Frank Lampard’s 134 of all time chances created record with 137 within a single Premier League last season, the Gunners clearly lack a striker with the final touch to put Arsenal on top.
A lot of speculations are going around regarding Arsenal transfer in search of a striker where Atoine Griezemann and Alexandre Lacazette in the mix. Here we access the two player’s qualities and how they can solve Arsenal problem in the upcoming season.
Alexandre Lacazette
The 28 years old forward who current plays for Lyon burst to the scenes in 2010 after been part of the U20 host and win Euro triumph with France with a decisive goal from him in the final 2-0 win game against Spain.
He scored 200 goals since then for both club and country and was the top scorer in 2014/15 season with 27 goals in 33 outings for Lyon. He went on to became second on the goal king chart last season with 21 goals behind PSG forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic who netted 31 goals.
Style of play
Lacazette is recognised as an out-and-out striker who is strong in aerial duels and is capable of shooting from long range. He is capable of holding onto the ball in wide areas and frequently draw fouls due to his dribbling skills.
Antoine Griezmann
Antoine Griezmann, now 25 years old forward, plays for Atletico Madrid after completing €30m from Real Sociedad in 2014.
Griezmann registered his name for Atletico following 22 goals he scored in 2015 to overtake Karim Benzema as the highest total goals scored by a France international in a single Spanish top Division.
He steered his club to UEFA Champions League final in Milan 2016 and also helped the France national team to Euro 2016 Championship final in France after emerging as the best player of the tournament and goal king with six goals.
Style of play
Antoine Griezmann has good finishing and passing abilities with an eye for goal. He is equally capable of playing as an offensive midfielder and thanks to his defensive abilities that helps him in recovering balls and pass contributions.
“He works hard for his team and possesses technique, vision and quality finishing” and branded him a threat in every game he played,” said UEFA chief technical officer Ioan Lupescu, who led the panel of technical observers that named Griezmann as the best player of UEFA Euro 2016.
The Verdict:
Arsene Wenger has a choice to pick one between these two France internationals but to review the performance and partnership of Antoine Griezmann with Arsenal forward Olivier Giroud in the just ended Euro Championship, the pair can work perfectly upfront for the Gunners next season. Lacazette had proven his pedigree in the French Ligue 1, but it remains to be seen if he can make a quick impact in an high intense league like English Premier League. The other two players in the radar should be Alvaro Morata or Paulo Dybala.
