Alexandre Lacazette is Arsenal’s potential Alexis Sanchez replacement – but can the Lyon man live up to the Chilean’s legacy?
Arsene Wenger knows the Gunners need major changes - but why he is a long-term admirer of the France and Lyon hitman
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ARSENE WENGER looks set to splash the cash in the transfer market this summer to ensure Arsenal missing out on the Champions League does not become a regular occurrence.
With Bayern Munich transfer target Alexis Sanchez, who starred up front for the Gunners last season, likely to depart the Emirates stadium a new striker is top of the agenda.
That could mean long-term target Alexandre Lacazette finally making the switch to North London.
Our friends at Football Whispers have taken a look at the prolific Lyon forward to see how he’d improve Arsenal.
Who is Lacazette and where does he come from?
Born in Lyon and part of the Ligue 1 club’s set up from the age of 12, Lacazette has never played for any other professional club.
Former Southampton manager Claude Puel gave Lacazette his senior Ligue 1 debut in the 2009/10 season but the Frenchman did not become a regular feature of the Lyon line-up until the 2011/12 campaign, in which he played 43 all-competitions games, scoring 10 goals.
Starting out as a winger, Lacazette, who was capped at every youth level for France, graduated to a central position to become one of the most lethal strikers in Ligue 1.
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The 2013/14 campaign proved to be his breakout year, netting 15 league goals and bagging 22 in all competitions, starting a run of scoring at least 20 total goals in each of the last four seasons.
Last term proved to be the 26-year-old’s most prolific to date with 28 league goals in 30 appearances, and 37 strikes in all competitions.
At the peak of his powers, Lacazette has decided that this summer is the perfect time for him to seek pastures new and test himself away from Parc OL.
“I think that's the right time. I want to discover something else, and to play at a different level," he told L'Equipe.
"I know very well that on a European scale I am not yet well recognised. I want to see if I can answer the questions that people are asking, and to make further progress."
It was widely reported that the 11-cap France international had agreed personal terms on a move to Atletico Madrid. But the Spanish side’s transfer ban looks to have thwarted that deal.
Lacazette could, of course, still decide to join Los Colchoneros and simply sit out until they are able to register new players in January.
But in a World Cup year that is far from an ideal solution, especially as he is behind Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud and Real Madrid transfer target Kylian Mbappe in Les Bleus’ pecking order.
This has opened the door to a potential switch to the Premier League. The Gunners and West Ham United both had offers for Lacazette turned down last summer. But Wenger is believed to still retain an interest in the player while the OL star has also been the subject of Liverpool and Manchester United transfer rumours.
If he were to arrive at the Emirates, Lacazette would offer the kind of clinical and direct forward play that has not been seen on the red side of north London since Robin van Persie’s switch to United in 2012.
Lacazette’s 38.9 per cent conversion rate in Ligue 1 last season was better than any striker in Europe’s major leagues to have scored more than 20 goals – including Arsenal’s Sanchez.
Powerful, fast and a clinical one-on-one finisher, Lacazette’s movement inside the penalty area often sees him snatch a yard of space on his marker, which is usually more than enough for him to rattle the ball into the net.
What is his most likely destination?
Arsenal are firm favourites to finally land the man Wenger has courted for some time, although the possibility of a move to Atletico Madrid still can’t be completely discounted.
“I don't have the intention to sell Alexandre quickly because there is still the will of Atletico Madrid to return on January 1. Now, I will listen also to what Alexandre says,” Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas told L’Equipe.
If the Gunners opt to cool their interest in favour of pursuing other targets, a move to Liverpool of Manchester United could become a possibility, while Paris Saint-Germain are said to be interested in the 26-year-old.
How much will he cost?
It is thought that Arsenal are prepared to offer as much as £50million for Lacazette. But Aulas recently said that any buying club will have to match the £57million Atletico were willing to pay for the striker.
“Everyone knows that Atletico's offer was €53million plus €12m in bonuses. That makes €65million [£57million]. As the Arsenal directors well know, it will be in that range.
"The price for a player who scores 25-30 goals every year – sometimes more than 30 – is at least that.”
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