It would be better if the Arsenal transfer rumours were confirming that Arsene Wenger had been successful in his attempt to sign another striker to compete with and cover for the France international centre forward Olivier Giroud. But at least we know that the boss is trying to get a deal done.
We expected as much from him this summer, especially after it was widely reported earlier in the summer that the Gunners had offered enough to Leicester City to activate the release clause in the contract of Jamie Vardy. Since the England striker turned us down, though, not much has happened and there has been a growing sense of frustration and impatience among the Arsenal fanbase.
Like I said, the news reported by The Mirror today that Olympique Lyonnais have confirmed that they have rejected a substantial offer from Arsenal for their talented forward Alexandre Lacazette does at least prove that Wenger is not just twiddling his thumbs.
The French club released the statement after one report claimed that Arsenal had actually offered almost 50 million euros for their player, something they wanted to deny. But they also confirmed that we had offered €35 million and that this bid had been turned down.
The statement read, Olympique Lyonnais categorically deny having received an offer of €48million from Arsenal for the transfer of Alexandre Lacazette, as Le Progres report this morning.
“The club is disappointed that Le Progres didn’t go to the effort of contacting us before publishing this false information, which creates confusion on the day the club is publishing its annual figures.
“The reality is that Arsenal made a €35million bid, which Olympique Lyonnais turned down for one reason: l’OL will keep Alexandre Lacazette, who is irreplaceable and who is one of the main leaders in Bruno Genesio’s squad.”
It does sound as if Lyon are determined to keep their man but we do not know when this reported bid was made or whether the Gunners are likely to go back with another. We do know that the boss is looking for more fire power, so with any luck there should be another signing just around the corner.
Bob.