Arsenal new man Alexandre Lacazette revealed that he wanted to be a goalkeeper but he ended up becoming a star striker because of his mum, who thought that a goalie’s task was too dangerous.
The French striker joined Arsenal from Lyon this summer for a club-record £52million transfer fee.
The former Lyon star also revealed that he was so shy that he felt bad for the opposition teams if his side scored too many goals against them.
Lacazette said: “I did like playing in goal when I was young but my mum wasn’t very keen as she thought being a goalie was too dangerous. She said that I either played as a forward or not at all.
“Sometimes I was embarrassed for the opposition if there was a huge goal difference between the two teams but that didn’t happen all the time.”
“I suppose temperament wise, I was quite reserved. I still am. I just liked playing football with my friends.”
“If we lost, of course I was sad. I used to cry at the slightest negative thing. Don’t worry, it’s changed now!”
Lacazette had scored 37 goals for Lyon last season but he admitted that it will be very difficult to do the same while playing for the Gunners.
But the Frenchman has made a good start to his Arsenal career – with four goals to his name in seven Premier League appearances this season.
He said: “I will try my level best to achieve that but there is a big difference in that I was played in virtually every match at Lyon. Here the manager likes to rotate players to keep them fresh for the Premier League.”
“I will try my best to score that many goals but this is my first season so it’s all quite new. I want to settle in and repay the confidence that’s been shown in me.”
“The main difference in the Premier League is that game is a lot more physical. The pace of the game is also very different – I now really understand what it means to play box to box.”
“Things can move so fast that you don’t have time to catch your breath or think about the next move.”