All Arsenal fans are aware that Alexandre Lacazette’s contract is set to expire this June, but with the lack of striker options and the amount of game tiime that Mikel Arteta has been giving him, many pundits thought it would be wise for Arsenal to offer the Frenchman a one-year extension for next season.
But now Lacazette has made it very clear he will not be staying at Arsenal after this summer, as he said in an interview with CanalPlus: “I am in discussions with a lot of clubs. I am open.”
The 30 year-old joined his hometown club Lyon as a fresh-faced 12 year-old and remained there for his whole career before joining up with Arsene Wenger at Arsenal 5 years ago. There have been many suggestions that he would love to return home after leaving the Gunners, and he has admitted that it could be a possibility: “I have never cut contact with Lyon since I left.” Lacazette continued. “I try to return to the club once or twice a year to see the medical staff because we are really close. Lyon knows that I am free, they have come to the information.“
The big spanner in the works though, is that Lyon are currently 8th in Ligue 1, and they are very unlikely to catch up to the Champions League places, and Lacazette admitted that could delay his return to his hometown: “It’s a bit more complicated.” he said. “I want to play in Europe, it’s been a long time since I played in the Champions League, I’m missing it. It’s a little more complicated, nothing is impossible in life, but it’s a little more complicated.”
So this summer is going to be even harder for Edu and Arteta, as once Lacazette and Nketiah have left, the only centre-forward we will have left on our books is Folarin Balogun and some other academy products. Buying a top class established striker will take up a lot of our transfer kitty and there are still other pressing needs to be filled in the squad.
It should be a very interesting summer for Arsenal fans!
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