Let’s talk Lautaro Martinez, a player who has been getting to linked to Arsenal in the past few days.
The Athletic have recently reported that Arsenal wants Lautaro Martinez & that the player is ready to join the club if both clubs accept the deal. With that in mind, I take an in-depth tactical look at the player, assessing whether he fits in at Arsenal or not.
Finishing
A criticism I see levied at Lautaro Martinez is the quality of his finishing when it comes to so-called ‘easy chances.’ Here, he creates space for himself & gets a shot across goal to his top left corner because of the power he can generate with very little backlift when he does have enough time to do so.
He doesn’t take his eye off the ball when he’s taking his chances, & he prefers to get the shot away as early as possible before he’s closed down by the defender, the latter point is important to note as Arsenal’s final third issues come from players not being willing to get the shot away before the opposition can get back in time to block them off.
Lautaro has an issue of under-hitting or hitting his shots with too little power when the chance is there for him to do so. Over here, if Lukaku got a shot away, he would go for the top right corner because of how static the goalkeeper is, but Lautaro prefers to place it around the goalkeeper.
This isn’t something that can’t be improved, but it’s a part of his game that’ll need to be coached out of him if Arsenal wants a lethal goalscorer, instead of a player that’s too passive to lead Arsenal to where they want to be.
When it comes to shooting from awkward angles or so-called weird areas, Lautaro Martinez has a high goal-scoring success rate. This is because he can get the shot on target, so if the goalkeeper isn’t prepared to react to the shot (which is to be expected as they’ll be anticipating a passing sequence rather than anything else,) there’s a good chance he’ll concede from there.
Lautaro’s awareness helps his finishing quality from awkward angles, he knows where the defenders are & he can exploit gaps that have been left open because his coordination is top quality.
Buildup play
Lautaro drops deep for Inter & he helps link midfield to attack with his quick 1 touch passing, he has a left-hand side bias, which could be down to his role as a left-sided center-forward for Inter rather than it being because the player prefers to be on the left & it leads to Inter breaking the long term issue of a back 3 – the system will get stale over time if they have no central creativity.
Aubameyang will form a good partnership with Lautaro as the Argentinian can bring his wide players into the game in more advanced positions without being dragged too much out of position himself & he can attack space to drag defenders out of their position to either be another attacking threat or make it easy for the LW to score.
The above image shows Lautaro at his so-called worst & his best. He tries to combine with the Inter RCM, with the ball being intercepted from him right after, so he opts to play the ball to his preferred left-hand side & starts a period of sustained attacks against the opposition.
Lautaro’s ball retention when in build-up is generally good, he doesn’t hinder the team when he drops deep but he needs to make better passing related decisions as he’d rather opt for a pass that might put his team in a better position but it would be difficult to complete over a simple pass that he’d be able to do on his own.
Lautaro offers Inter a wide option when they transition, with his natural inclination to get the ball in central zones if Inter are in a position where they can score or isolate any of their attacking players with the opposing CB’s. Lautaro does this job well to the point where Inter can continuously conduct counterattacks with the assurance that he’ll be there without fail to keep his team in control.
Arsenal needs that kind of facilitating player to allow them to either hit teams on the break quickly or ensure control when they’re in attack. Lautaro in the build-up is good for this role as he will make sure that the team won’t drop their intensity or become stale with lack of movements or passes to their outlet (Aubameyang.)
Final Ball
For Arsenal, they need a centre forward that’s either good at scoring or someone who can bring their LW/RW or their AM into the game to score goals. Lautaro Martinez doesn’t have the best final ball, but he’s able to get the ball to the best-suited players so they can get a shot on goal.
Here, he identifies where there’s a lot of vacant space so he pulls the ball back to his teammate so he can get a shot on goal, putting his team in the best position to score. Someone like Aubameyang or Lacazette would ignore the free man & try to fashion a goalscoring chance of their own.
Lautaro’s decision making & awareness is best displayed here, he realises that Crotone have a defender that’s pinned onto him, so he plays the ball onto the Inter Milan wide man for him to get a shot on goal.
A common theme with Lautaro’s final balls is that they tend to lead to low-quality chances, and that’s down to where he plays (he’s tasked with staying centrally & only drifting out when absolutely necessary.)
This ties in everything Lautaro has done before, he receives the ball in an awkward situation where it’d be difficult for the player to get much done, so he gets the ball to the man who’s free so they can get a shot on goal. This leads to Inter Milan no longer being stopped by Crotone & it forces the opposing defenders to defend with more recklessness or urgency.
Lautaro’s final ball isn’t something to marvel at, it lacks consistency, he doesn’t play it into the box & they’re dependent on whether the receiver has tendencies to shoot or not which is something that won’t be guaranteed to him at Arsenal.
Defensive contribution
Defensively, Lautaro is sound & his awareness makes it easier for him to pick up where the opposition may make stray passes for him to pick up on. His interception in this picture best exemplifies this, Crotone are playing the ball around & their LCM leads a pass astray, Lautaro intercepts it, controls it & against the run of play, Inter Milan are back in control of possession.
Lautaro can maintain his shape when he’s defending whilst being aware enough to pick out when the opposition may slip up for a multitude of reasons. When compared to Lacazette or Aubameyang, neither player will be able to win the ball when they’re in their defensive shape, preferring to back off & be a different option there for the midfielders to get the ball to. Lautaro is more aggressive, making him defensively the perfect CF for the club on paper.
Inter are defending with fewer men here & Lautaro was single-handedly able to disrupt the opposition from playing through the team with his aggression when intercepting & cutting out Crotone’s passing lanes. Crotone tried to play through the Inter Milan shape as their CB’s aren’t capable of effectively switching the play to their RM/RW’s, which led to an Inter Milan turnover.
Arsenal’s starting XI with him
In a 4-2-3-1, Lautaro will be tasked to lead the line & be a creative outlet, alongside Emile Smith Rowe with Auba & Pepe being used as inside forwards to be the main goalscorers. For Arsenal to get the best out of Lautaro, he’ll have to be played in a similar way to Lacazette, given instructions to drop deep but to venture in the opposition 18-yard box a bit more often (which he’ll be able to do as he’s inclined to be of great presence there.)
In a 4-3-3 with James Maddison at LCM (where he reportedly would like to be played,) the onus would be on Lautaro to be the linkman between the CM’s & the forward, getting the ball as quickly as he can to the runners (Pepe & Auba) so they’re able to be isolated with the opposition defenders & get out chances on their own.
Final Thoughts
Currently, I’m unsure as to whether Lautaro Martinez is the right type of centre-forward for Arsenal. Ideally, they get in someone who is a final third presence, able to dominate defenders physically & score goals when the ball is teed up for them. Lautaro makes sense if Arsenal wants a false 9-esque CF, someone that can drop deep, help a lot in buildup & make sure their wingers can score 20+ league goals a season but there hasn’t been much indication to suggest that Arteta wants that yet (his use of Lacazette seems to be out of necessity rather than him being the type of CF he dreams of having at the club.)