‘Lacazette should follow Aguero’s example to save his Arsenal career’ – Tony Cascarino

Tony Cascarino believes Alexandre Lacazette doesn’t look capable of thriving in Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal system but he can turn the tide if he emulates Sergio Aguero’s mentality.

The Frenchman looked out of sorts on Sunday as the Gunners fired a blank in a goalless stalemate against Burnley — the club’s 13th draw of the season.

How can Lacazette follow Aguero? Five things to know…  

• Lacazette is yet to score under Arteta across the eight games he has featured in.
• The Frenchman came up short once again as Arsenal drew 0-0 with Burnley on Sunday.
• Ex-Chelsea forward Cascarino believes Lacazette should heed the transformation of Aguero under Guardiola.
• The Argentine notably fell out of favour under Guardiola during the start of his City tenure.
• However, after adapting his game to become more than just a goalscorer, Aguero has flourished under the Catalonian.

Chances presented themselves at Turf Moor over the weekend, but Arsenal failed to capitalise on their 13 shots aimed at Nick Pope’s net, with Lacazette unable to muster a single attempt on target.

The draw has left Arsenal languishing in 10th-place in the Premier League table but, perhaps more worryingly, highlighted Lacazette’s waning form in front of goal, with this encounter being his ninth successive match without finding the back of the net.  

Cascarino suggests Lacazette is enduring a crisis similar to that of Aguero when Pep Guardiola first took charge of Manchester City. The Argentinian was forced to adapt his game after finding his playing time restricted under the Catalonian

As such, Aguero transformed from an out-and-out poacher to an all-round team player, and Lacazette should now follow in a similar vein if he wants to establish a prominent role under Arteta. 

Subscribe to Squawka’s Youtube channel here.

In his column for The Times, Cascarino wrote: “Alexandre Lacazette needs to up his game. It was not a great game at Turf Moor yesterday and the Arsenal man’s poor display stood out. He just does not look as if he is capable of playing the way Mikel Arteta wants. He doesn’t seem to fit the system.

“Lacazette wants to play purely as a goalscorer. That is not enough. He has to up his work rate and do the closing down and running his new coach demands of him. At the moment, he looks shorn of confidence because he is not fulfilling his role in the team.

“Sergio Agüero would be a good example for him to follow. He knew he could no longer get into the Manchester City team just as a goalscorer. He had to work hard too. If Lacazette does not realise that soon, he may find he is not an Arsenal player next season.”

Lacazette has won possession in the final third 0.91 times per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season, the highest average of any Arsenal player. Aguero comes in at 0.77 per 90 minutes in this regard.