Arsene Wenger refused to be drawn on whether Arsenal are still interested in French striker Alexandre Lacazette despite Lyon confirming yesterday that they’ve rejected a bid of €35 million from the Emirates.
Facing local media in California, where the Gunners play two pre-season games in the coming week, the boss unsurprisingly reaffirmed his preference for doing transfer business privately.
“Lyon is responsible for their own statements,” said Wenger.
“On the transfer front, I think the best [option] is always to keep as secret as possible. If we sign somebody, we will announce it. But I cannot tell you much more on that.”
As if Lyon hadn’t made their position clear enough yesterday, president Jean-Michel Aulas again went on record about his desire to keep Lacazette predicting the 25-year-old will have a stellar season at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.
“Alexandre is irreplaceable,” Aulas told Foot Mercato [translation by ESPN]. “It would be malpractice to sell him.”
“I find him [Lacazette] to be completely calm,” he added. “I think he’s going to have a very good Champions League and I honestly see Alexandre getting 27 to 30 goals again in the French league.
“For me, he’ll be ahead of [PSG forward Edinson] Cavani this year for the number of goals scored. And I see him putting in an incredible performance in the Champions League as well.
“For all these reasons, I can’t imagine that he might be able to leave and I think that he too wants to have a complete season with OL. Alexandre will be Lyonnais.”
Aulas also revealed that Lyon had had a bid rejected for Toulouse striker Ben Yedder. Now perhaps we’re starting to overthink the potential games going on, but we wonder if that’s a response to the rumour linking us with the player yesterday? Possibly.
We here at Arseblog News are sceptical that Arsenal will return with an increased bid for Lacazette, but that hasn’t stopped L’Equipe speculating that we’re prepared to offer over €40 million. As Sport Witness pontificate, how much over that mark is the big question?
So, do you think Lacazette will be an Arsenal player by the end of this transfer window? Our new feature allows you to cast your own Poo-o-meter rating. Remember, the higher the number, the less likely we think it’ll happen.
If Lacazette requests the transfer its a game-changer. He just needs to grow a set and pipe up.
The poo-o-meter is this week’s Pokemon Go.
Gotta shit em all
Wenger will most probably do a “Chamakh” and get some average 8m forward like that Yedder guy from Tolouse.
I presume your judgement of Yedder as “average” comes from your watching him play every week?
I’ve seen enough ligue 1 hightlights in the past two or three seasons to rate that as an average at best player, who is maninly a wide player by the way and we’ve got enough of those
It’s a good job that highlights are the only way to judge the quality of a player
Wonder why Arsenal waste money on scouts & analytical software when they can just make transfer decisions based on youtube highlights…
they did that with Chamakh though
We have enough wide players? So you’d be totally cool if Mahrez didn’t come?
Ben Yedder isn’t ‘mainly a wide player’. He likes to drift wide but he’s a striker first and second striker second.
Thanks for letting me have a very satisfying poop Arseblog!
But mahrez and any pacy striker. Not that hard
Maybe you should offer your services then, if it’s so easy for you.
Wow! Looks like ‘Stewart Robson’s’ having a bad day. A lot of sarcasm going on there mate, chill out and enjoy your day.
Loving the new poo-o-meter.
Everyone gets to poo collectively in one place. I did 6.
Mahrez is good. Then you remember Giroud is our only striker at the moment.
Pizza is tasty. Then you remember that grass is green.
Mahrez is good but Giroud is our only striker so we need Lacazette more than a winger. Was it that hard to understand?
Yes
I think Arsene needs to have a couple of bottles of nice Californian wine today, and make some extravagant hangover purchases in the morning. It’s the only way he’s gonna spend the money.
If he comes he won’t be an upgrade on Giroud.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing Mike. Finding a striker equally as good as Giroud would be fine. Yes, everyone would like a Suarez or Aguero, but given the state of the strikers in the world at the moment I’d be happy with a Giroud mark 2 (I know he plays a different style but you know what I mean). Someone to come in and contribute goals when Olivier hits his almost inevitable new year rut would be fine. As it is, I don’t know anything about Lacazette beyond what I’ve read, so I couldn’t tell you if this is… Read more »
I’d be fine with another Giroud level striker too although I’ll be pretty disappointed if that’s all we sign.
Indeed. There’s a reason he’s behind Giroud for the French national team. No reason he wouldn’t be behind him at Arsenal as well.
He is behind Giroud in the French national team because Deschamps likes a target man, like Giroud or Gignac, to be the focal point of the team. That way players like Greizmann, Pogba, Payet can play off them. I think that is why he was not picked for the Euros. Certainly, he is not an upgrade on Giroud, but it would give us a different option. With regards to Ben Yedder, he has comparable scoring figures to Lacazette but would be a heck of a lot cheaper. If we get Mahrez, starting CB and Ben Yedder, I would be happy… Read more »
How did people get the idea that Lacazette is somehow not worth a decent transfer fee and that Giroud is so much better? because he wasnt in the national squad? Simply put, squad selection has more to do with how the coach wants to set up his team to play. If Griezmann was ahead of him in the pecking order, that’s no blight on Lacazette. It simply means the coach only saw need for one of those types of players and chose The one he thinks is better. Lacazette’s goal scoring record speaks for itself, and he will only get… Read more »
While I get that Lacazette is a different type of fwd, the fact that he wasn’t included in the squad implies that the manager didn’t see enough quality in the player to keep him in the squad, even as an option B or C. If a player is top quality, the manager will always find a way to accommodate him.
OK. Let’s talk about Giroud’s semi final match stats (e.g.).
Header : one.
Wenger is often quite categorical in denying transfer rumours when they are not true. The fact that he’s gone a bit coy over this one intrigues me.
I can now poop whilst pooping. Great!
If you decode Aulas’ initial statement, it actually means,
“Media reports say Arsenal offered €43 million, which is not true. Arsenal offered €35 million, which we rejected. We won’t sell him for €35 million. You pay us €43 million and take him home”.
Gazidis playing the poor man card again….
it’s not the amount of players we need, it’s the quality, we should be looking at three more players who can come straight in and improve our first eleven.
But this is Arsenal so I’d take one and two complete punts at this point
+£40 is close to the price of Ozil, Sanchez and Suarez at the time, and it seems like a lot for a player who doesn’t seem like he is quite up there. He seems more in a category at level with or just below the level of Giroud. He would of course still be an useful addition in terms of pace, style and skills. Since we don’t seem able or willing to buy a A+ player but more in the market for a value-for-money striker, it does seem like a lot of money.
This is merely posturing by Lyon. They know they have an asset that they can sell to clubs from the Bundesliga/La Liga and primarily Premier League. It’s a league flush with TV money, so their best tactic is to encourage a bidding war. No way Wenger will cave in to such nonsense. A runny flux-y 10 on the poo-meter.
I know we need a striker, but something just doesn’t sit right with me on this one. This guy wasn’t even in the French squad but Giroud was and had a fairly decent tournament, 3 goals and 2 assists? If Lyon want 43 million euros for him, how much is Giroud worth? I can’t be the only one thinking we should walk away from this?
I am sure there are better and cheaper players from the less known leagues who would do better than some of this big names being thrown around. What really matters in a striker is hunger and fighting spirit like Sanchez not some pre Madonna
I agree, I’d much rather we bought a young hungry striker than some two-thousand-year-old fucker born before the Virgin Mary.
I forgot the whole point of the poo-ometer I was just pooing for pooing sake… sorry blogs I might have fucked up the stats. But I feel better
I would urge us all to consider something. Most players who are now world class players had numbers similar to Lacazette has had for the past three years in their youth and he’s only now 25. I want us to get him and get it over with before he scores a bucket load again this season and becomes worth £80 million too. A couple of years ago, we fooled around when we could have gotten Higuain for £30 million. Let’s not make the same mistake
Arsenal buys good players, impatience Arsenal fans destroy them. Imagine if Mahrez was bought last year:- headlines will be stingy Wenger bought a dud again.
I remember most of you clamouring for balotelli, Samba, Benteke, etc.
BLUF:- support your players.
Wait, what is our poop meter rating… And I don’t mean ‘what is the poop meter supposed to rate’ in this article? The posturing of the clubs (and which club?), or that we need a striker? or that AW thinks keeping transfer info secret is important? So confused….I will just got back to the tabloids that tell me what I should think… 😉
Processing my poo…….
I actually pressed poop while pooping for real. 2 poops for the price of 1.
What about Kevin Gameiro? Just putting that out there….
Love the “Thank you for pooping” message after you’ve pooped.
Wish my toilet did the same thing.
Lyon made this statement today because it was the day they released their financial results, and there was a leak in the regional press, a wrong information. Aulas (who is good on communication) had to make an annoucement to its investors. It was a financial statement. With, obviously, a commercial hint behind.
Lacazette was injured last year. It took him some time to get back to full speed, so he wasn’t included in Deschamp’s plans. But the year before he was really, really good, fast, powerful, good on the ball, a good finisher, loving big games – a very hot prospect. And still young. At the end of last season he seemed to get back where he left. I think he would do wonders at Arsenal, bringing other qualities than Giroud. I am looking forward to seeing him play with Alexis on the left, Mahrez on the right and Özil behind him.… Read more »
Jese Rodriguez??
He is boss on FIFA, therefore we should sign him
There arent many strikers out there who are already at the level we want and this guy seems to have all the attributes we need (eye for goal , pace etc ) so personally id be happy for us to take a €40m+ ‘gamble’ on him . Im not fussed he didnt make the france squad thats horses for courses but his league record speaks for itself . Its a no brainer if u ask me .
Seriously, Arsenal supporters, my worst nightmare would be to see Wenger place the €50M bid Lyon couldn’t afford to reject. I can’t see how we would manage to keep up with the C1 without him. Just look at the facts. Laca scored a bunch of goals these last two seasons, he keeps improving his game, and there’s no Ozil here to make things easier. By the way, as a football fan, I’m quite sure Ozil-Lacazette would be a duo I’d be more than happy to watch, matching the idea I have of Arsenal as an elegant and subtle team. Olivier… Read more »
Blogs, I think a meta page with transfer targets and poo-meters against them will be… fucking excellent!
I feel like we should go all in for Lacazette. He might not be the level we want or are expecting at the moment but he might very well grow to become world class. The other reason I think we should get him is because the transfer market is insanely inflating each year. Valuations of players have risen something like 40-60% in the last 12 months. Lacazette’s valuation is on par with Alexis/Ozil’s from 2 years back. Higuain can get you two Ozil’s etc. So atleast if we did get Lacazette, he’s of good age and we wont have to… Read more »
I don’t think it is something Arsenal in particular should worry about. It is an issue which affects the entire Premier League. The FA and UEFA should ALREADY be urgently attending to this. Like the housing market a few years back, prices climbed and climbed and climbed, then poop.
I am sure they will eventually. Knowing how fast they work, it might be another 2-3 seasons.
This football economy needs to burst. The whole world is going down the drain and yet 120 million for a footballer seems like a good deal.
This could be as much Aulis trying to fish for a deal not necessarily with us. Wenger could also be using it as a counter point to some other negotiations. I wouldn’t read much into it. He wasn’t brought to the Euros for a reason. Deschamp plays Giroud (or GIcnac) to bring in his other more mobile attacking players in Payet or Greizzman. Its very similar to the way we play with Alexis and one of Ox, Campbell or Iwobi. For those who think Lacazette will at least give us something different, we already have Walcott. Unless you think Wenger… Read more »
Question is: will Arsenal put better offer?
Thanks to my BT sport subscription I was able to watch almost all Lyon matches and revise my opinion on Lacazette. He is an absolute beast!
He participates to the build up, he is fast , strong, technically gifted. The best example was against Paris where he was immense and bossed a very experienced defender called Thiago Silva.
I thought Lacazzette was older than 25. On youtube he looks like Henry, but Giroud is in front of him in the France squad.
What about 23 y/o Fekir from Lyon instead?
Wenger must know that the market is skyrocketing. 50-60 for Lukaku now, to get Arsenal results now. He is BPL proven, bullies defenders, is a good age and seems to be growing more consistent each year.
Severe inflation is happening. I don’t even have a degree in economics.
And Aulas claims he has met Wenger on a number of times during Euro 2016 in France but that the Gunners boss refrained from discussing a move for the striker. So I don t think that there is something, and it seems to me that Alex wants to spend this season with Lyon in the new stadium.