23 REASONS IT’S STILL GOOD TO BE A GOONER
1 LEAGUE AUBAMEYANG ’S BEST AND STRIKE LACAZETTE PARTNERSHIP ARE THE
“Where is Auba?!” shouts Alexandre Lacazette, his baritone echoing around an unseasonably chilly indoor pitch at Arsenal’s training ground. Nacho Monreal, Sead Kolasinac and Mesut Ozil look up from their game of keepy-uppy beside a gold-painted throne. Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan stop shooting into a six-a-side net.
Wrapped in a floor-length navy padded jacket, Lacazette is awaiting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for their joint slot in front of the FourFourTwo cameras at the Gunners’ new kit launch. He shrugs at his team-mates dotted about the pitch. They all double over, laughing.
Does this sort of thing happen a lot, then?
“All the time,” laughs Lacazette. “He’s never actually late for things, but he always arrives at the last moment. Just as the bus is about to pull away, that’s when he’ll finally arrive.”
Seconds later, Aubameyang appears on cue, sprinting across the arena towards his BFF.
This is a genuine bromance. They visit each other’s houses and have dinner together with their families. Today, they’re wowing London with their trainers. Auba’s are silver, with what look like stuck-on sweets, while Laca’s are cartoon-inspired high-tops.
“Those two are like Tom and Jerry or the Chuckle Brothers,” a laughing Iwobi had told FFT earlier. “We’re serious about our football, but that atmosphere helps us relax.”
They’re good, too. Very good. Aubameyang and Lacazette scored 50 of Arsenal’s 112 goals in all competitions in 2018-19, with the former claiming a share of the Premier League Golden Boot and the latter also contributing 13 assists and being named the club’s Player of the Year.
Sure, the season ended badly, a 5th-place finish being followed by a chastening Europa League final defeat to Chelsea, but with these two at Arsenal, there’s hope of another trophy challenge and a return to the Champions League. Premier League defenders fear the dynamic duo, as Aubameyang’s finishing combines with Lacazette’s ability to hold up the ball, link play and find the net himself.
That it works is obvious. But, as we meet the pair before that Europa League final setback, what FFT wants to know is how it works.
So, guys, how did your friendship develop?
PEA: What, the bromance with this guy here?! [Both laugh like teenagers] I don’t think we’d actually talked to each other before. We were opponents in one of France’s biggest rivalries.
AL: I was at Lyon; he was at Saint-Etienne. We met in a League Cup game in 2011. He scored.
PEA: He was a really good striker, but I had no hate towards him – a few of his team-mates, maybe, but Laca was cool. I came to Arsenal and there he was. It was good to see him.
What were your first impressions of each other here?
PEA: It was love at first sight! [Laughs] The day I arrived, back in January 2018, he came straight up to me and said, “I hope we’ll play together.” I said, “I hope so, too” as I knew we could form a really good partnership and help each other score goals.
AL: I was really happy when Auba arrived, because I knew what a great striker he was. He was the kind of player I joined Arsenal to play with. At first, people were saying, “Hey, he’s coming to take your place”, but I always knew we could play together.
How do things work on the pitch?
We’re both centre-forwards and that’s the best place for us – to play as a
