Arsenal 4 Leicester 3: Alexandre Lacazette makes dream start as Gunners fight back in Premier League opener
French striker, who joined Arsenal for £52m this summer, scores the joint fastest goal in a Premier League opening game
ALEXANDRE LACAZETTE enjoyed a dream start to his Arsenal career when he put the Gunners ahead against Leicester after just 94 seconds.
It was the joint fastest goal ever scored in the opening game of a Premier League season - and seemed to herald the arrival of a new French darling at the Emirates.
Lacazette, a £52m signing from Lyon, showed wonderful poise, technique and power to divert Mohamed Elneny's cross past Kasper Schmeichel with his head.
His celebration, casually strolling towards the Arsenal fans with his arms out said: "Here I am."
It displayed a cool arrogrance that brought back memories of his compatriots Thierry Henry at Arsenal and Eric Cantona at Manchester United.
At times Lacazette looks like a traditional No.9, always seeking to position himself between the centre-backs, poised to pounce.
He appears somewhat languid, but moves quickly when the moment arrives and shows a natural comfort on the ball and a classy touch.
He also brought back memories of Henry by frequently drifting out to the left and creating problems for the opposing defence from there.
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On his debut, Lacazette did some good work from out wide, showing he is a team player and creator too.
One example came in the 68th minute, when he produced lovely a curling cross from the left, but Aaron Ramsey fluffed his header.
The French international also showed plenty of times that he is more than capable of dealing with the physical demands of the English game.
An example of this came in the 19th minute when he held off Harry Maguire, turned him and sped away - forcing the Leicester defender to pull him down.
Lacazette's strength also played a crucial role in Arsenal's first equaliser.
With his back to goal, he resisted the attention of Wes Morgan and managed to spin and get his shot off.
Although he did not connect cleanly, the ball squeezed through for Danny Welbeck to score.
Moments before Arsenal's second equaliser, Lacazette so nearly got his second.
He showed the confidence to slalom through Leicester's defence deep inside their box, and got off a poweful shot, which Schmeichel did well to deflect over.
While Arsenal's defence is a cause for alarm, up front they appear to have signed another gem.
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