Duncan Castles and Ian McGarry have been discussing the latest goings on with the Transfer Window Podcast, and the pair have claimed that Arsenal have ‘aggressively’ sought out buyers for Alexandre Lacazette.
The Frenchman joined from Lyon back in 2017 on a five-year deal, and now has just the one year remaining on his current terms.
Lacazette was the club’s top goalscorer this season in the league with 13 goals, as well as top goalscorer in all competitions with 17, but with his contract running down, it makes no sense to continue in the knowledge that he could leave the club for free in only 12 months time.
Arsenal would most likely appreciate a change also, having failed to freshen up their front line having relied on both Aubameyang and Lacazette as their main outlet for goals over the last three-and-a-half years now, and the football journalists insist that the Gunners have been actively seeking out a buyer for the 30 year-old.
Castles said: “A player who they would like to sell and get their wages away, but they are finding very difficult to sell is Alexandre Lacazette.”
And McGarry added: “I have been told that Lacazette has been marketed very aggressively around Europe, but there’s not been any particular interest that is strong enough to suggest that Arsenal will be able to offload Lacazette.”
It is still early in the transfer window of course, to rule out an exit for Laca, but if we are unable to offload him early in the window, finding a suitable replacement to bring in may then prove problematic also.
Patrick
Rather Lacca over Aubamayang any day
do you mean leaving or staying? I know that a lot wouldn’t agree and I get that, just my point-of-view.
I think that I would rather have Lacca stay, of course if Auba returns to form that might be different.
Last year it wasn’t just the lack of production from Auba, it looked like he didn’t really care – unfair as I only see what I see on TV but he didn’t seem like a leader. What happens behind the scene is beyond me.
Auba must be relieved from his captain duties to get him back to his best. I don’t mean that he was a bad captain. But, he is not a natural captain material. He’s got a great personality and he can motivate the guys in locker room and training ground. You need something different to lead the team on the pitch, which Auba isn’t blessed with. The captain’s armband is not letting him express himself fully on the pitch.
I agree the armband should go to someone else.
Great squad player , i hope he stays , he has a lot still to give and teach the younger ones.
I agree, he is a pro
👍 👍
but a squad player on £200k+ per week…
its too much to warm the bench
I have always rates Laca above Auba.
I hope we can keep him. But on his current £150k a week. If he is asking for £200,000 a week then we shouldn’t give into it. Get rid.
May be add incentives. He scores 20+ in the EPL then he will be rewarded with a bonus at the end of the season etc..
Wonder how many visitors among us saw that one moment of quality in our opening pre-season game against Hibernian, when Laca took a swift turn to evade a challenge and pass the ball to Partey, then receiving the return pass, took a cushoined touch and played THAT ball to Bellerin before making his run inside the box and positioning himself in anticipation of a cross, before ESR scored the goal.
Replacing him now without delay or watching him walk out for free at the end of this season is the least of our problems, as long as he can replicate that consistently throughout the coming season. If Laca deserves to be treated like that, I’d like to know what we must be doing with Willian.
👍
Arsenal and their 99 problems.
It will take the grace of God to fix arsenal attack problems.lacazzete, abumeyang,pepe.willian. all are average players that don’t deserve to wear the badge but still remain in the club collecting Hugh salaries.
Emeka, our club is problem if you ask me. We are managing to turn seasoned goals scorers into dross. Lace records from 2014-2017 season was 27, 21, and 28 goals against his 14,13,10 and 13 in our white and red colour. If you at Auba record as well you will see his goals tally per has reduced when he joined us. Rather than focusing on the players and demand changing or buying new players all the time we first need to find out how these good players retrogression our colours.
IWWO Arsenal are usually a much better side when
the Frenchmen is leading the line. Laca does still
have his head scratching moments in front of goal
but the former Lyon man ALWAYS puts in a shift when
called on and is universally loved and respected by both
his gaffer and teammates. He may not score at the rate
to appease the fan base but unlike another seemingly
untouchable member of the attacking room he
NEVER, EVER goes missing in important fixtures.
I would never expect Laca to take a pay cut but if AFC
could restructure the finances of his contract a year
or two mentoring Balogun and Martinelli wouldnt
be the worst outcome for the club.
I think the Laca situation has become far too over complicated.
Offer him a 1 year extension on the same wages. If he accepts he can mentor Balogun and if he refuses then sell. Even if we only get offers for less than our asking price, we’ll get nothing next year.
Not to defend MA or Arsenal, but the truth is the Epl is a much harder league compared to the Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga, so Laca and Auba’s decline is not just an Arsenal thing.
Take Fernando Torres for instance who was on top form in spain before joining Chelsea, we all know how that went(other examples: Costa, Falcoa)
We need a striker that is acquinted to the pace and style of the Epl or a younger striker who can adapt to it, as both Laca and Auba are aged and will only decline further
DCL and Isak would be my prefered option
Son,
How can you conveniently forget Torres’s Liverpool spell?
You missed the part when Torres was in Liverpool or Suares. All this epl league is harder is a fallacy. We have witnessed players coming from the other league and becoming the players of the season in their first season or the second. Something is wrong with our club and the way we handle our players. Our imported players seem to regress fast in quality and value compared to other team.
I agree with you. Bruno fernandes was formally playing where? I think EPL is overrated.
So many of us fans have selective memory or will let emotions/ likeness cloud our judgement. It is the truth that when Auba was flying and scoring for fun he has a certain French guy beside him in the team that is what created the Bromance between them. The way I see it is having both them in the team is the best for us and I will only takeout Auba if I have to make a choice between the two. The evidence is right there yesterday and people that watch the match can attest to it. The way we choose to play now under Arteta, Auba would be a passenger. I will suggest will slightly increase his wages give him 2 years extension. We are better with him only as one our attacker than without him.
Loved that “bromance” part. People these days give little thought about growing together. They simply want to discard the slightly inferior players for a proven performers without realising how it’s gonna affect the team’s chemistry.
Just another big ticket signing (50M plus) who will be allowed to leave at the end of his contract for absolutely nothing! This is my prediction.
We had the perfect opportunity last season to trade him for over 25M, but elected instead to take a pass – apparently to appease his mate, Auba – just before he signed his last extension.
No surprise. This is now part of the club’s DNA – keeping players beyond their sell-by date. (This includes Auba too.)
Despite this loss of income (25M), my bigger concern though is the effect this will have on Balogun and Martinelli… competing with Laca for game time.
Had the club progressed after the signings of Auba and Laca, it would be easier to find better players to replace them, if they both were not performing to the best of their abilities.
Sadly, they performed well, while the club went from UCL to UEL to no European football right now. Under these circumstances, it is always better to hold on to the best players in the squad than trying to find a better replacement by dangling nothing but money.
So what’s your point VasC? Are you making excuses for bad or extremely poor business decisions?
Comparing the returns on investments on Auba and Laca against a few other players in the past few seasons, I will never term this a bad business decision.
Both these players had to perform for three different managers with different philosophies in less than 5 years. Yet, they adapted and did their best for the team.
Arsenal are currently not in a position to attract proven performers. Getting an upgrade is not easy for us anymore without breaking the bank which we did last season for Partey and Willian and even after a year, they haven’t upgraded our position in the league.
My point is just this. Auba and Laca were NOT bad or extremely poor business decisions.
OK. Let’s stick to ROI. We follow a sustainable business model. What is your assessment of the estimated market value both Auba and Laca at the end of their contracts? From where will be get cash to replace them? Sorry to say the model doesn’t and will not work for us….the way we run our business.
If Arsenal had sold laca last season , do you think Arsenal would still be in the Premier league? With the nonsense Auba did last season! If laca leaves without an upgrade to take his stead , Arsenal would regret direly.
Adiva u have said it all. In arsenal,the system put in place to develop and turn this incoming average players with potentials into becoming world class beaters has automatically detoriated. the system has become crap and turned arsenal into a holiday resort club where average players come in and go on holidays later earning outrageous and undeserved salaries.
Take for examples Luis Suarez of Liverpool back the who was snapped up from Ajax for just 26mill euros in 2011. In his debut season he scored 4 goals in just 13 appearances. 2nd season 11 goals 31 appearances. 3rd season 23 goals 33 appearances
4th and final season 31 goals 33 appearances.won player of the season,golden boot and other awards that needs to be won in the premier league.sold to barca in 2014 for 82mill euros. In his debut season for.barca was nominated for ballondor alongside Messi and Neymar. Became the.most dangerous,best and fearful striker in the wotldI can go go on and on concerning his development.
But in the case of abumeyang,l acazette and co are nothing home to write about.no resale value..no big clubs are coming for them,no player of the season award to show for all their stay in arsenal. The best players go to the best clubs.
The truth is bitter .there.are no 2 ways about it.
I really do not know what Arteta is thinking, really! Becos, it is clear even to the blind that Lacazette is mile off Aubameyang and Mr Arteta still doesn’t acknowledge that. Why should we even ponder the idea of selling Lacazette? I hope they realize the mistake they are making before it gets too late. For me as a fan I will continue to pledge my support to the club even if it happens that they relegate. If relegating would bring back the Arsenal of old, then so be it.
Laca should have been sold last off-season, the fact that he wasn’t has presented us with another asset management conundrum…it wasn’t reasonable, at that point, to give him an extension, in order to maintain some semblance of leverage before he entered his final contractual season, so by not selling him we functionally backed ourselves into an all-too-familiar corner
I can only assume we balked at the notion of getting him off the books as a result of Arteta’s pie-in-the-sky post-FA retool misstep, which required a heavy dose of senior players come selection time
to make matters worse, in the midst of his deluded pursuits, Arteta was rewarded with the managerial tag…fact is, if we ever want to reemerge as a serious contender, we need to rid ourselves of the dysfunctional narrative that has become synonymous with this club since our absentee landlord took the reigns and Dein left the building