Friday, March 29, 2024

Wenger Confirms Arsenal’s First-Choice Penalty Taker

Arsene Wenger has cleared up any confusion on who Arsenal’s main penalty taker will be for the season after some initial confusion going into the campaign.

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What seems like a lifetime ago, a little Spanish magician called Santi Cazorla would have his name on the penalty spot and very rarely fault when tucking away from 12 yards.

However, with the veteran out for the majority of last season and not expected back until January next year, it’s always seemed like the team decided who would be taking spot-kicks on the day.

Alexis Sanchez was happy to take on the role last year but it seems as if the new kid in town, Alex Lacazette, has swiped that responsibility from his shoulders after the 2-0 win over West Brom.

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In a very Henry-esque style, the Frenchman slotted the ball into the bottom right-hand side but questions loomed over whether Lacazette was the man Wenger originally wanted over the ball.

It would seem the striker’s hard work in pre-season and determination to outscore his Premier League rivals has landed him with the duty, as Wenger confirmed in his post-match interview:

(On whether Lacazette will stay on penalties) Yes, until now I gave them to him. I observed him a little bit because we work well on penalties in training and I think he took his penalty well.

I took him off because he was tired. He had an opportunity to score a hat-trick but I gave him the penalty as well.

Lacazette was heavily criticised over the summer by Arsenal fans themselves, stating he’s a striker that builds his stats by only scoring penalties against Ligue 1 sides.

But with four goals in his first three games at the Emirates Stadium, the £52million man is already silencing some doubters and if he continues to secure three points for us, then who cares if those goals come from the penalty spot of the half way line!

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