Arsenal
President Confirms Arsenal Have Held Talks Over Signing Of 37-Goal Hitman
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has confirmed Arsenal have held talks about signing Alexandre Lacazette and are ‘ready to pay’ for the £57m-rated striker
Managers are now pressing ahead with their plans for the summer transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the globe. Today, more on Arsenal’s pursuit of Alexandre Lacazette…
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has confirmed Arsenal have held talks about signing Alexandre Lacazette and are ‘ready to pay’ for the £57m-rated striker this summer, according to quotes in L’Equipe.
Arsene Wenger is in the market for a top class goal-scorer as he looks to rebuild his squad after missing out on the top four and Lacazette has emerged as a prime target in recent weeks.
The 26-year-old enhanced his reputation as one of Europe’s most prolific strikers after plundering 37 goals in all competitions to help Lyon finish fourth in Ligue 1 last season.
The Express reported recently that Arsenal have scheduled talks with Lyon chiefs for next week as they look to push through a deal having supposedly tabled an opening £44m offer.
Lyon chief Aulas has stopped short of revealing any precise details of an offer but he has confirmed that Arsenal are ‘ready to pay’ their £57m asking price after Wenger held talks with Gerard Houllier during France’s recent friendly with England.
Aulas says Lyon won’t let Lacazette leave until they secure a replacement, however, the bad news for Arsenal is that he went on to suggest a move to Atletico Madrid could still happen in January.
Aulas told L’Equipe:
“I do not intend to sell Alexandre [Lacazette] quickly, because there is always the will of Atletico Madrid to bring it [the transfer] to January 1.
“Now I also listen to what Alexandre says. I saw Arsene [Wenger] during the France versus England match. I was with Gerard Houllier and I understand that he told Gerard that there could be interest from Arsenal.
“But it’s premature to say that things will happen. It takes a very large transfer before. A player of that quality cannot be allowed to leave without having his replacement.
“Arsenal is ready to pay for Lacazette. It will have to be at least that [£57m]. Everyone knows that the offer of Atletico is €53m [£46.5m] plus €12M [£10.5m]. That’s €65m [£57m].
“As the leaders of Arsenal are well informed, they will be in those waters. The prices for a player who marks every year with between 25 and 30 goals, sometimes more than 30, is at least that.
“But frankly, I have not thought about Arsenal for the moment, because I thought that Alexandre would stay because of the failure, initially, with the Atletico Madrid move.”
It looks like the decision is now down to Lacazette as to whether he joins Arsenal this summer or stays with Lyon until January when he can complete his proposed switch to Atletico.
Moving clubs mid-season is never easy so hopefully this will sway Lacazette’s decision as the last thing he needs is to see his form affected during the second half of the season ahead of the 2018 World Cup finals.
I’ve seen fans complaining about our pursuit of Lacazette but I honestly don’t know who they expect us to sign, especially without Champions League football? Lacazette is the best of the realistic strikers we could sign this summer, unless we pull off a sensational move for Kylian Mbappe, and even that’s still not out of the question just yet.
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I would personally love to see Lacazette join Arsenal as he’s been a goal-machine in France and he’d undoubtedly a better goal-scorer than Olivier Giroud or Danny Welbeck, so fingers crossed we can get a deal agreed.
