Fantasy Premier League

GW8 Forwards #2: Alexandre Lacazette

By The Scout 5 Oct 2017

Arsenal v Brighton and Hove Albion - Alexandre Lacazette

FPL managers are shuffling their front lines, but is The Scout sold on the Arsenal striker's claims?

As we face a forward crisis in Fantasy Premier League, The Scout looks at the second of six candidates to help managers pick their attack.

Alexandre Lacazette (ARS) £10.4m

The form

The Frenchman has made a promising start to his Arsenal career but has failed to ignite as an FPL option.

Four goals have delivered 32 points. But he still trails other forwards and ranks ninth for his position after Gameweek 7.

Significantly, all of Lacazette’s strikes have come at Emirates Stadium, and Arsene Wenger’s side are yet to score in three away matches.

The statistics

Look at the numbers and there are concerns over Lacazette’s potential on the road.

He has averaged a shot every 57.3 minutes in away matches, compared with every 24.5 minutes at home.

There is a similar pattern when assessing his potential for assists. He boasts only one key pass in away matches so far. At home he has six.

The statistics provide little encouragement when stacked up against his FPL rivals.

Notably, he ranks only seventh for penalty-area shots and joint-sixth for big chances (five), suggesting that there are many better candidates for our forward lines.

Lacazette in 2017/18

	Total	FPL forward rank
Goals	4	4=
Shots	16	9
Shots in box	13	7
Shots on target	8	5=
Big chances	5	6=
ICT Threat	264	8

The prospects

As Arsenal’s designated penalty taker, Lacazette has the potential to grow as a Fantasy option.

But the away form is a clear concern.

Olivier Giroud’s (£8.3m) availability from the bench is also a factor.

Lacazette has been withdrawn early in five of his six starts and gave way to Giroud on 70 minutes against Brighton & Hove Albion in Gameweek 7.

Wenger will likely continue giving minutes to Giroud, meaning that Lacazette must create and take more opportunities if he is to convince FPL managers.

The Scout's verdict Lacazette needs to show that he can deliver consistently in away matches. With Alexis Sanchez (£11.9m) growing his FPL stock as a candidate in midfield, our interest in Arsenal could soon lie elsewhere.