Former defender named surprise star who Mikel Arteta let leave for free as Arsenal’s best player

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Arsenal have had some exceptional players on their books since moving to the Emirates Stadium in 2006.

The likes of Thierry Henry, Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have all represented the Gunners at their new stadium.

Santi Cazorla has been cited as one of the best Arsenal players in modern times, with the technically gifted Spaniard perfectly encapsulating what Arsene Wenger loved in a footballer.

However, a former Wenger player has identified who he believed to be the best player at the club back in 2019.

• READ MORE: ‘The boss is my dad’ – Danny Welbeck used to say former Arsenal star was Arsene Wenger’s son

Nacho Monreal claimed Alexandre Lacazette was the best player at Arsenal

While Arsenal’s squad at the end of the 2010s certainly wasn’t one of the best this century, it did boast some outstanding talents.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was scoring goals for fun under Unai Emery, while the likes of Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Laurent Koscielny were still at the club.

However, the first choice left-back at the time, Nacho Monreal, cited another name as the best in Emery’s squad.

Speaking in an interview for Soccer AM back in 2019, when asked who the best footballer was in N5, Monreal gave Alexandre Lacazette the accoloade.

“I think the best player at Arsenal at the moment is Alexandre Lacazette,” the Spaniard said.

“I think he’s playing so well, he’s training so well, he’s scoring a lot of goals, giving assists, always supporting the teammates.

“For me at the moment he’s the best player. He trains really seriously, he gives his 100%.

“Obviously he’s not focused during the whole training session, because normally you have time to enjoy, you’re not all the time training hard, but he trains really well.”

Alexandre Lacazette’s Arsenal statistics

Lacazette was enjoying his most fruitful season at Arsenal when Monreal made this claim, finishing the 2018/19 campaign with 19 goals and eleven assists in all competitions.

The striker had been signed from Lyon in 2017 for £46.5 million, and generally endured a mixed spell in North London.

Scoring 71 goals in 206 appearances across five years at the Emirates, he perhaps didn’t live up to the prolific potential that he’d demonstrated was capable of in Ligue 1, but he deservedly won Arsenal’s player of the season award in 2018/19, dragging the Gunners to a Europa League final.

Lacazette formed a deadly partnership with Aubameyang that was potent for a few seasons before both players started to decline as they passed their peak.

Eventually leaving for free in the summer of 2022, the Frenchman will be remembered relatively fondly in Islington.