Alexandre Lacazette to Arsenal: Lyon ace flying into London for medical ahead of £44m move

Arsenal have agreed a deal to sign striker Lacazette from Lyon for a fee that will eclipse their previous record transfer of £42.5m for Mesut Ozil in 2013.

Jean-Michel Aulas last night denied Lacazette was already in the capital and claimed Arsenal’s first offer had fallen short of their valuation.

But the Gunners believe they have struck a deal to sign the 26-year-old, with Aulas claiming he will cost as much as £43.9m (€50m).
 
"Alexandre Lacazette's transfer to Arsenal could be actioned within the next day or two,” he said.

"The figure reported by the English media of around €67m (£58.8m) - including €12m (£10m) in add-ons - is impossible and not realistic. Arsenal's first offer was around €45m (£39.5m), the transfer will be concluded in the range of €45m (£39.5m) to €50m (£43.9m).

"It constitutes, without doubt, a record transfer fee for Arsenal, and for Lyon of course!"

Wenger’s interest in Lacazette was sparked with the Frenchman having scored over 20 Ligue 1 goals in each of his last three seasons for Lyon.

Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott, both wanted by West Ham, could now move on but it remains to be seen whether the new arrival will have an impact on the futures of contract rebels Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.

But Lacazette’s move may come as somewhat of a surprise, given last month he said he would only move to a club who are playing in the Champions League.

However, it appears his stance on the matter has changed as he looks all set to spearhead Arsenal’s Europa League campaign.

Lacazette could have ended up playing in Spain this season had his move to Atletico Madrid not fallen through.

The Lyon-born ace verbally agreed to join Atletico Madrid this summer but the deal fell apart after the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed on June 1 that Atletico would be banned from registering players during this transfer window.

The free-scoring striker netted 37 times in 45 games last season and had two years left on his existing Lyon deal.

Lacazette boasted the highest chance conversion rate in Europe's top five leagues last season at 38.9 per cent.

His record of 28 league goals last term was more than the combined tally of Arsenal quartet Giroud, Walcott, Danny Welbeck and Lucas Perez.

Meanwhile, Arsenal have also ‘signed’ Leicester star Riyad Mahrez, according to huge claims in Italy.

Italian website Calciomercato - who don’t always get their transfers right - claim the Gunners will announce the move soon.

They do not mention how much Arsenal have paid for Mahrez or include any details of his potential contract.