Former Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette believes he is proving the doubters wrong after leaving the Premier League and making a triumphant return to Lyon.
Where would they be without him?
In another testing campaign at the Stade OL, the form of Lyon’s veteran frontman has at least put a smile on the faces of a disillusioned fanbase; Lacazette taking his tally to 24 goals in just 33 games during Sunday’s 2-1 home defeat to Champions League-chasing Marseille.
Released by Arsenal last summer following an underwhelming final season at the Emirates, rumours of Lacazette’s demise have clearly been exaggerated.
“Many people thought I was finished,” a defiant Lacazette tells Telefoot. “They saying that I wouldn’t succeed. That the club was making a mistake (signing me).
“I wanted to show that Lyon were right in calling on me.”
Alexandre Lacazette in form of his life after Arsenal exit
Lyon haven’t made many correct decisions in recent times. The appointment of former PSG boss Laurent Blanc after so many years out of the French game yet to truly pay off. But bringing Lacazette back to familiar surroundings is at least one call outspoken president Jean Michel Aulas can look back on with some semblance of pride.
Only Kylian Mbappe and Lille’s Jonathan David have scored more than Lacazette’s 20 Ligue 1 goals in 2022/23; Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun among those trailing in the veteran’s wake. The 31-year-old is now also Lyon’s second-highest all-time record goalscorer.
Lacazette is not ruling out extending his stay at Les Gones either; his vast experience making the striker a major presence on and off the pitch in an otherwise youthful squad.
“It’s still too early to know (what my future holds). It could be at Lyon, Lacazette adds. “Even if I have two years of contract left, you never know what can happen after. I don’t feel close to the end yet.”
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