Alexandre Lacazette joins Arsenal for club record fee of £52.7m

Alexandre Lacazette completed his £52.7m move to Arsenal from Lyon and said it represented the fulfilment of a childhood dream. The 26-year-old supported Lyon as a boy – he went on to play for his hometown club at first-team level for eight seasons – but, like many French players of his age, he considered Arsenal to be a reference point.

Lacazette entered the Lyon academy as a 12-year-old for the 2003-04 season – the year that Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires helped Arsenal to the Invincibles title-winning season, and it made an impression on him. He has signed a five-year contract at the Emirates Stadium and he said he was further attracted by the club’s managerial stability – Arsène Wenger has been in charge since 1996 – and their style of football, which he believes is the best in England.

“I am, of course, delighted [to sign] and very proud, too, because Arsenal is a legendary club,” Lacazette said. “Throughout my childhood, thanks to Thierry Henry and other French players, I always dreamed of playing for this club so today that dream has been fulfilled.

“Arsenal’s past appeals to me – I like clubs with a history. Also, the fact that the manager has been here for a while shows that it is a stable club which I like. In addition, there are quite a few French players here, which makes it easier to settle in. In my opinion, Arsenal is also the club that plays the best football in England so I really wanted to come here.”

Lacazette will travel with the squad on Sunday for the pre-season tour of Australia and China while he will play his first home game in the club’s colours at the Emirates Cup on 29-30 July. He has become Arsenal’s record signing and he arrives on the back of three particularly prolific seasons at Lyon. Last time out, he had the best shot-conversion rate of any forward who scored 20-plus goals in Europe’s leading five divisions.

“Every time I take a shot at goal, it’s because I believe I can score,” Lacazette told Arsenal Player. “I don’t just shoot for the sake of it. I always try to choose the best option, whether that is to pass or to shoot. I also try to keep as calm as possible. All that is achieved by a lot of hard work in training.

“When I play, I like to use my pace and to link up with my team-mates. As a forward, I like to score goals, of course, but that’s not all that I’m about. I love good flowing football where the whole team is engaged. I want to give 100% in every match and show that I’m worthy of the shirt. I want to do everything I can to make sure we win titles.”