Skip to main content

Gunners New Boy Lacazette in spotlight as Arsenal host Emirates Cup


Alexandre Lacazette will make his first appearance in front of Arsenal's home crowd this weekend as the Gunners step up their pre-season preparations in the Emirates Cup.
Arsene Wenger splashed out a club record £52 million ($68 million, 58 million euros) to sign Lacazette from Lyon this month and the France striker is expected to get his first taste of the Emirates Stadium when Arsenal face Benfica on Saturday.
With Arsenal's Premier League campaign getting underway against Leicester on August 11 after next week's Community Shield clash with Chelsea, Lacazette has an opportunity to make a good initial impression on the Gunners faithful in the four-team friendly tournament.
Aside from a desire to justify Wenger's hefty investment, Lacazette's Emirates debut will carry extra significance for the 26-year-old, who grew up admiring Arsenal's legendary 'Invincibles'.
Emulating that 2003-04 Arsenal team, who won the title without a single defeat thanks to inspired contributions from French stars Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires, might be aiming a little too high, but Lacazette is confident he can make a big impact in his debut season.
"Arsenal is a legendary club. Throughout my childhood, thanks to Thierry Henry and other French players, I always dreamed of playing for this club," Lacazette said.
"Arsenal's past appeals to me. I like clubs with a history. Also, the fact that the manager has been here for a while shows that it is a stable club which I like.
"In my opinion, Arsenal is also the club that plays the best football in England so I really wanted to come here."
Lacazette's arrival has given fresh hope to Arsenal supporters hoping their team can build on an unexpectedly upbeat end to a traumatic season.
For months it seemed Wenger was on the brink of calling time on his 21-year reign as Arsenal suffered one humiliating setback after another.
- Cavorting -
Yet, despite Arsenal's failure to qualify for the Champions League and repeated fan protests against Wenger, the 67-year-old was last seen on English soil cavorting jubilantly around Wembley after his side's surprise FA Cup final victory against Premier League champions Chelsea.
Days later, Wenger ended the speculation over his future by signing a new contract, but the Frenchman knows patience is still in short supply among supporters who haven't seen their club win the title for 13 years.
Having finished 18 points behind Chelsea, Wenger is betting Lacazette can help close the gap by replicating his form at Lyon, where he had the best shot-conversion rate of any forward who scored 20-plus goals in Europe's leading five divisions last term.
Lacazette took just 15 minutes to bag his first Arsenal goal in a friendly against Sydney FC in Australia two weeks ago, but he failed to net in any of the next three matches, including a lacklustre 3-0 defeat against Chelsea.
Although Alexis Sanchez is not scheduled to return to training until next week following his Confederations Cup duty with Chile, Wenger is sure to face questions about the Arsenal forward, who has only one year left on his contract amid talk he is trying to engineer a move to Paris Saint Germain or Manchester City.
Spanish side Sevilla and German outfit Leipzig, featuring Liverpool target Naby Keita, face off in Saturday's other fixture at the Emirates.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vulvar Care Tips

Vulva Care Maintaining a healthy vulva and vagina will help prevent infections and discomfort. Unusual changes in vaginal discharge is a sign that there might be an issue. Why is vulvar and vagina care important? Many women experience uncomfortable, vaginal infections (vaginitis) at one time or another. The area around the entrance to the vagina (vulva) can also become irritated. Steps can be taken to relieve and prevent vulvar discomfort and vaginal infections. Not all vaginal infections are alike and home treatments can worsen some types. If you have any concerns about your vulvar or vaginal health, or notice unusual changes in vaginal discharge, contact your healthcare provider if the problem persists. What is the vulva? The vulva is the area of female sex organs that lies outside of the vagina. These organs include folds of sensitive tissue called the labia (labia means "lips"). The labia has two parts. The outermost folds are called the labia majora. A secon...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nigeria’s first female banker, Sarah Morocco-Clarke is dead

Sarah Adenike Morocco-Clarke, Nigeria’s first female banker is dead. Morocco-Clarke died at the age of 80 on Sunday, 16 September 2018, after a short illness. Sarah Morocco-Clarke, an alumnus of Queen’s College Lagos, started her career with First Bank (then Bank of British West Africa, and subsequently Standard Bank) as a pioneer female employee, and rose through the ranks at First Bank Nigeria and was made the Services Manager and Secretary to the South Administration, wherein she had a mandate that covered the services of all the First Bank branches in Southern Nigeria. While she worked in the banking industry, she was manager of numerous First Bank branches in Lagos and was subsequently made a Regional Manager in charge of Bendel, Ogun and Oyo states. She was also an Area Manager in the Western part of Nigeria. Popularly known as the ‘Iron Lady, Morocco-Clarke leaves behind six successful children, thirteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Post a Comment
Read more

BBNaija winner, Miracle, gets Pilot license

The winner of the BBNaija ‘Double Wahala’ reality show, Miracle Ikechukwu, has obtained his Private Pilot License and Flight Dispatcher License. The 23-year-old took to his Instagram page to share the news by posting a picture of his licenses alongside birthday wishes for his mother. He wrote, “Today is also my pillar’s birthday (my sweet mum). Thank you, mother, for always being there for me through the journey. “To all my lovely fans, I thank you all for your patience and support. We made it. PPL in the bag. Happy new month,” Miracle said. During the course of the BBNaija show, Miracle, who was in aviation school prior to the show, continually expressed his desire to obtain all piloting licenses as soon as possible. He expressed his resolve during the eviction nights where he wore his piloting uniform each time he was up for possible eviction. Miracle’s total winning prize included N25m cash, a Sub-Urban Vehicle worth N12m and a trip for two valued N4.7m, Television an...
Post a Comment
Read more