Alexandre Lacazette flickers in Arsenal display deprived of top-class animation

For Arsenal the entertainment came in equal measure from the left boot of Thibaut Courtois and the ox-like shoulders of Sead Kolasinac. In the bigger picture Alexandre Lacazette’s slighter frame may carry more of a burden and, although this was no stand-out introduction to English football for their new forward, it will have proved a brisk enough sharpener.

That is the requirement, at least. With Alexis Sánchez still kept at a remove from the action there appears no prospect of a quick click into gear for the pair Arsène Wenger hopes will vindicate his decision not to sell the Chilean. Lacazette will have to play well immediately and, in a lively but predictably frayed encounter, there were glimpses of the devilment he will offer around the penalty area, even if few real clues were offered about Arsenal’s most equable attacking balance.

For all the disquiet at Chelsea over a lack of squad enhancement during the summer – Wenger had noted that Álvaro Morata and Tiemoué Bakayoko, who was not fit to play here, are replacements rather than additions – there remains the sense that Arsenal’s are a team in similarly suspended animation. The roll call of absentees also included Aaron Ramsey, scorer of the FA Cup winner three months ago, and there was at least a sighting of Mesut Özil, suited up by the touchline due to an ankle complaint, in conversation with his erstwhile Real Madrid colleague Morata before kick-off. At this stage of pre-season a more abrasive confrontation might have been preferable.

It did not add up to the clearest of pictures five days before Leicester visit the Emirates Stadium, even if Lacazette’s arrival was designed to ward off any ambiguity. The France striker is what he is: a goalscorer who did exactly that 37 times for Lyon last season. If life with Sánchez is about the hustle, the soloism, the plentiful moments of brilliance and the transparent exasperation, Lacazette promises a cooler, more dead-eyed approach; a grimly effective spearhead, in theory, for whomsoever operates to either side.

Sánchez will, it seems certain, be one of those players for the next 10 months but here Lacazette was flanked by Alex Iwobi and Danny Welbeck, who are talents of the more mercurial kind yet lend Arsenal a warming directness going forward. Iwobi’s undoubted ability needs to be translated into greater efficiency this season if he is to be a credible long-term starting option; he began with menace and there were early suggestions of an understanding with the £52.7m signing. A seventh-minute burst to the byline and subsequent cutback led Courtois to deflect the ball on to the onrushing Lacazette, the danger eventually passing; Welbeck was sprightly too and would have registered an assist had Lacazette, meeting his lay-off, not curled the ball against an upright.

Lacazette, constantly on his toes, is a superior mover to Olivier Giroud and should thrive when fed by the quick thinking of Sánchez and Özil. Both would have enjoyed the space on offer as the match developed at around 80% of full throttle; Lacazette is not the type to drop deep and, with Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny offering only intermittent guile, the flanks were the most regular source of joy. That will be enough to overpower the Premier League’s more mundane opponents and present a tempo too high for most in the Europa League, but a wild slash over the bar shortly before half-time by Welbeck was a reminder of the uncertainties that may beset Arsenal if their sleeker operators are not up to speed soon.

A bigger concern may be the amount of work demanded of Lacazette if Arsenal’s familiar achilles heel is not, at long last, corrected. A six-strong offside trap was punished for concentrating on the irrelevant presence of Michy Batshuayi when Victor Moses, running on to Gary Cahill’s header, finished confidently; communication had clearly been poor and the opportunity had been presented when Kolasinac, on for the injured Per Mertesacker, ballooned a wild clearance high into the air.

Kolasinac’s 32nd-minute arrival had meant Arsenal’s back three contained two natural left-backs, if that is how we continue to bracket Nacho Monreal, along with the still inexperienced Rob Holding. Shkodran Mustafi should return soon from his post-Confederations Cup break while Laurent Koscielny, whose absence from the teamsheet was perplexing even though he has two matches of his competitive ban to serve, will presumably be ready to play at Anfield on 27 August. It was Liverpool who, a year ago, took advantage of Arsenal’s undercooked defence to score four times and secure a win that proved decisive to both sides’ Champions League hopes; with Arsenal the frustration is constantly that, however loudly trumpeted the changes, there tends to remain an undercurrent of ill-preparation.

There is a sense that, once again, they will have to begin by muddling through. They deserved parity here and it arrived after Lacazette’s 66th-minute withdrawal, his influence having faded as Chelsea, tighter in the second half, marshalled him effectively. Kolasinac, a rumbustious figure who will be hard to ignore at either end, capitalised on Chelsea’s hesitancy in the aftermath of Pedro’s red card to level. The ABBA-formatted shoot-out was a reasonable distraction although time is now of the essence if Arsenal are to find the blend they need.