Analysis: How Lacazette will kick-start Arsenal's attack

Here's everything you need to know about Arsenal's second signing of the summer, Alexandre Lacazette, from the financial details behind the move to a tactical breakdown of how he may be utilised on the pitch.

Related: Arsenal stacks attack with club-record Lacazette signing

The Lowdown

• Age: 26
• Position: Striker
• Former club: Lyon
• Nationality: French
• International caps: 11

Financial details

Arsenal has broken both the bank and convention in signing Lacazette to a club-record deal during the transfer window's first week, bucking a trend of last-minute moves to appease an increasingly frustrated fan base and augment an area of concern.

With an initial fee of £52.7 million with performance-related add-ons that could bring the total to £60, the amount smashes the then-club-record £42.5-million bid accepted by Real Madrid for Mesut Ozil four summers ago.

Considering Arsene Wenger's penny-pinching ways and penchant for late deals, the fact that the north London lot has lured Lacazette and left-back Sead Kolasinac to the Emirates for £52.5 million, that's two members of the starting XI sorted by the first week of July. Is this real life, or is this a fantasy?

Where will he fit in?

Whether Wenger sticks with the 3-4-2-1 that suited the Gunners well toward the end of the campaign or his preferred 4-2-3-1, the Frenchman's formation of choice has no bearing on Lacazette.

A traditional No. 9, Lacazette's signing impacts France teammate Olivier Giroud more than anyone else in Wenger's camp, explaining the surge of reports linking the stately former Montpellier league winner with moves to Everton and West Ham.

Let's assume for a moment that Alexis Sanchez is staying put despite links with a Manchester City switch, and that the acquisition of Lacazette has again put some pep in the step of the impassioned Chilean. With that in mind, and considering the two formations at Wenger's disposal, how will everything line up?

In the event that Wenger reverts to the 4-2-3-1 formation, Lacazette will benefit from having Ozil pulling the strings in his support.

Should Le Professeur again opt for a back-three, Lacazette's position is unchanged, though the amount of service - and who he receives it from - differs. Ozil will fill less of a central position, and in theory, Kolasinac and Hector Bellerin (or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain) will surge forward to deliver crosses. Giroud thrived under such situations, and the same will be expected of Lacazette.

In the event that Giroud does stick around to complete his Arsenal century (the stately striker is currently on 98), the two could theoretically line up alongside each other where the towering aerial master does the dirty work (hold up play, controlling Petr Cech's often-fallacious goal kicks) while Lacazette runs onto passes and finds channels between the centre-backs.

Future outlook

On a five-year deal that will bookend his prime days, Lacazette, 26, is the age of a player who can play both an immediate impact and offer something down the road.

It's been years since Arsenal has had a traditional No. 9 with a skill set as varied as Lacazette's, and among all of his virtues, the one that is likely to resonate most with the Gunners faithful is his conversion rate.

One look at some of his highlights with Les Gones proves as much.

Among 22 players who scored 20 goals or more in Europe's top five leagues last season, Lacazette led all with a 38.89 percent conversion rate. In his last three Ligue 1 campaigns, he scored no fewer than 21 goals, and his 91 tallies over the last four seasons are more than any player in France's top flight.

"As well, he has very interesting technical qualities and a strong character. So he is a guy who is a great addition for us, and someone who will help us challenge at the top level this season," Wenger said Wednesday.

Deceptively quick and more skilled on the ball than many strikers, Lacazette is equally capable of using a dribble, or two, or four, as in this instance, as he is to drop a shoulder into a defender to create space. If Sergio Aguero has mastered the shoulder drop to turn a defender, Lacazette has become an expert in creating space using his torso as a means of separation. And like both Aguero and Barcelona star Luis Suarez, Lacazette is no stranger to scoring from an acute angle, as the image below shows.

(Photo courtesy: @jair1970/OPTA)

Grading the deal

For several reasons, the Lacazette signing is a brilliant deal.

From Wenger's perspective, the Frenchman's acquisition both takes care of business early and should help encourage Ozil and Sanchez to stay put with a veritable No. 9 to play through.

It also gives Arsenal a bonafide striker, and with all due respect to Giroud, a team with title ambitions on multiple fronts merits more quality in attack. If that can help persuade Sanchez to stick around, then it's a signing that will pay for itself, and with Arsenal hoping to not only climb back into the top four, but shock the English top flight with a title whilst not distracted by the trappings of Champions League play, Lacazette provides the Gunners a chance that Giroud, Theo Walcott, and Danny Welbeck simply can't.

Verdict: A