EXCLUSIVE Lacazette for Mozzart Sport Kenya: We are good enough to win the Europa League title

What are the similarities between Thierry Henry and Alexandre Lacazette? Well, they are both French, they both have Guadeloupean roots, the both are strikers and they both played for Arsenal. In fact, one of the reasons Lacazette signed the Gunners (apart from being a childhood supporter) is to follow the footsteps of his idol. And Henry always supported Lacazette, either in Arsenal or in his quest for a call into the French national team. In fact, the current Arsenal number 9 revealed that he speaks regularly with Henry, listening to his advices.

In an exclusive interview with Mozzart Sport Kenya, Lacazette talks about Henry, Arsenal, the current season, the Europa League and, off course, his coach Mikel Arteta.

"I used to be a real Arsenal fan as a kid. My whole family supports the Gunners. Thierry Henry was one of my favorite players, my role-model, and coming to Arsenal was a real pleasure for me. It’s not possible to compare me and Thierry. Henry was much quicker, taller and better player obviously than me. I prefer to play in the middle and deep, while he enjoyed on the wing“ says Lacazette.

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And while he could never play alongside his idol, he has a pretty good team mate up front: Arsenal’s captain Pierre-Emmerick Aubameyang. Various TV pundits and fans often question can them two play together or which position should they play. And Alexandre has a preference, but knows he doesn’t decide where will he play.

"I feel more comfortable in the middle and my quality there can be much better seen. I like to play with Pierre-Emmerick Aubameyang, we showed we can play together. It's not up to us to decide who'll be in the lineup. The coach is one to decide and it's always a pleasure to see him, Pierre, on the left“ explains the Frenchman.

And while Auba’s season has been marked with injuries and off the field issues, Lacazette is in pretty good form, netting 11 goals so far and showing the fans that they can rely on him to score goals when Aubameyang is not in the game. The striker, however, prefers to help the team, and doesn’t check statistics all the time.

"For me, I know I could do better, but I'm still happy because it was not easy season for us as a team. There was lot of different moments, when we were good and not good. I just like to help the team as much as I can. Obviously, with the goals is always better, and the numbers are really important in terms of goals, but for me even more important is to help on the pitch and in the dressing room“ says Lacazette.

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One of Arsenal’s consistence this season has been inconsistence. The fans don’t know which Arsenal will show up, the good one or the bad one. Defeats came from very different games and it seems that even Lacazette doesn’t know what’s missing. 

"We are missing something. It's hard to find out on the pitch why are we really good at one moment and bad on the other. We are still learning as a team and need to improve. The positive thing after those losses, for example, against Liverpool is that we now know what we need in order to win the game, it's hard to play after those defeats, but it helps us improve“ explains Lacazette.

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With such an inconsistent season, the Gunners cannot hope to play European football next season, unless they win in their current Europa League competition. And that is, logically, the main goal for the rest of the season, along with much wins as possible in the Premier League. For Lacazette, winning the Europa League is certainly not a crazy dream.

"Europa League is really important for us, we want to win the competition. We played in semi-finals and finals in the past, but this year we can do it. We just want to win and go to the Champions League next season. It means a lot for both, the players and the fans. We want to finish this season well, but it would be hard to reach the top of the table. If we can win every week, it will boost our confidence for the Europa League. We want to win the Europa League and finish as higher as possible in the Premier League. It's achievable, it's not a crazy dream. We showed that we can beat some great teams, so it all depends on us“ says the Frenchman with confidence.

And it they don’t manage to secure any kind of European football next season, the first casualty might be the coach: Mikel Arteta. Young as his team, the Spaniard is still learning, but knows the club well. And according to Lacazette, the players believe in him.

"Arteta will bring a lot of stability in the club, he wants to be in a long-term. Since he came, you could see many changes around the club and training ground. He is really respected, the players believe in him. He is young, but has experience because he worked in City with a great manager and brought that to the club and it's good for us“.

By: NEVEN CVIJANOVIĆ, Sport Klub TV reporter