Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas says he’s keen for a reunion with Alex Lacazette when the striker becomes a free agent in the summer.
While Mikel Arteta hasn’t ruled out the possibility of offering the 30-year-old an extension to his current deal, the odds are stacked against a renewal given the signing-on fee he could command elsewhere.
“It’s Lacazette, he interests us because he marked this club,” Aulas said.
“It’s a profile that interests us and we have always been in contact with him.
“This is part of the guiding ideas brought by [new sporting director] Bruno Cheyrou. In our context, yes it [Lacazette] is more accessible than Benzema [who is also ex-Lyon].
“We have to try to see if we can do it as a free player but we will not be alone.”
Born in Lyon, Lacazette joined his local club in 2003 and rose through the ranks quickly before scoring 129 goals in 275 appearances at senior level. It was that impressive scoring record that persuaded Arsene Wenger to spend a club-record fee of £46.5 million in 2017.
You’d hardly begrudge the Frenchman a return home after five years of service but it would heap further pressure on Edu to recruit in the attacking department given Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s recent departure and the likelihood of Eddie Nketiah also jumping ship.
On the summer we will be desperate to sign strikers.
Any player will cost for us 20 mil more because of that.
So fx if we would like to sign someone like Giroud Welbeck Sanogo Aubameyang etc estimate 50 mil…
Sad but true
I’d kill for a Giroud loan until the end of the season.
Bracing for the reactions to this one.
Murder is bad.
Giroud should never have been sold in the first place.
Simple as that.
Damn, people have short memories
I think he would be perfect in our current setup
He always was. He was highly underrated.
Kieran Tierney would have shattered the assist record by now if he were.
Something that I think is sometimes missed in the whole ‘why did we buy both Laca and Auba’ conversations is that it left us having to shift Giroud.
In my head having Auba and Giroud on the same squad would have been amazing, either as alternative options from the bench, or even with Auba coming from left. Giroud was so good as a facilitator for those around him.
Unfortunately we didn’t have that choice. As it was the Jan window (which I think we recognise is always a bit difficult given the last month…) the Auba deal was contingent on Dortmund loaning Batshuayi as a temporary replacement from Chelsea and Chelsea were only willing to deal if we sold them Giroud. Chelsea’s rationale was completely unreasonable, given Batshuayi never got a game anyway. But Chelsea will be Chelsea.
It always amazes me that supporters never remember this. It amounted to a swap of Giroud for Aubameyang. As much as I like Giroud, as much as I think he was often underrated, that swap was a huge upgrade for Arsenal. And, at the time, almost everyone thought so. And we were right. (If we had Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe, I might feel differently.)
Giroud can take the Europa cup and shove it up his bum.
I think the ideal striker in Arteta’s formation is someone like Giroud with pace. Good finishing in and around the box, ability to hold the ball, ability to head the ball, press the opposition, and then when needed stretch the field with pace
Yeah, his name is Lewandowski. Or Benzema. Or maybe, only maybe, Lukaku. You are describing a ballon d’or candidate. Even Pep would take a number 9 like that.
The modern game as seen by many of the best managers like Pep, Tuchel, Arteta and others. Flowing, pressing, attacking pressure all game. If you cannot acquire that all around big fast tall holding and pressing and set piece fox in the box….adjust and adapt but never give up the pressing fluid attacking and interchanging movement of players. Every manager has a constant moving line between players adapting to system and system adapting to players. The bigger clubs have more ability to get the players they desire.
Oh.
This ‘pressing, attacking, fluid’ game.
Does it include moving it out from the back at 0.00000009 miles per hour, passing sideways, passing backwards and then hoofing it up to our big six foot four non existent centre forward….?
Clubs sell players at a price that suits them, they’re not focused on Arsenal, that’s just us! There are many options and we’ll be very attractive to young talented players wanting development and assured minutes!
Actually sanogo is available on a free right now!
Overpriced…
I wouldn’t be against offering Lacazette a one or two year deal to smooth the transition to a new attacking set up.
But if Martinelli is refashioned into a cf and bangs away the goals we need between now and the end of the season we might be looking at only one cf signing, a foil for Gabriel, and then a wide attacker. Let’s see what happens in the next few months, I’m looking forward to finding out!
I imagine 40-50 mil more….per player. I bet 87.625% of our budget goes to our mismanagement!
Still remember his header two minutes into his PL debut against Leicester. Anyone knows how many more headers he scored since then? Feels rare.
Would be interested to look behind the scenes and see how he coped with the whole Auba ‘saga’ over last couple of months since he’s been very close to him.
Seems he approached it very profesionally (at least based on his on pitch behaviour) and tries to have a solid mature influence on the youngsters.
Goal in the semis against Atletico springs to mind. Although it feels he didnt quite live up to the potential, he sure scored goals against big clubs on big occasions.
Also a header in that game against West Ham last season to make it 3-3, he was sensational on that day
Here, step right up pick your free player!
Bruno Cheyrou, now there’s a blast from the past
They get that £50M for him in 2017 and now they look to sign him back for free in 2022. This seems like a prank that was five years in the making. I hope he goes anywhere but Lyon, fuck them.
It’s not like he did a William for 5 years though. He’s been a good servant of the club.
Not criticising Laca. I said prank as in we pay £50M to a club, then five years later, same club gets that player back for free. We are financially screwed on this end of contract, as he leaves for nothing.
Going for free to the same club we paid £50M to, just five years ago, is even worse in my eyes.
Lacazette has the highest “goal probability added” per 90 mins. Second is Saka and third is Martinelli. That is how crucial Lacazette is to our game. He is our most important player for the rest of the reason.
https://twitter.com/oh_that_crab/status/1488250261243981826
We got 5 years of him at his peak, him going back now as as his career is winding down makes sense.
It’s called the depreciation of an asset, not exactly rocket science
*Martin Tyler voice
“And the trophy for ‘Highest Goal Probability and Wages Saved’ goes to…..Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal – they ARE The Peripherals.”
By this logic, any service is a “prank.” Damn, I spent 50 euros for a night in that hotel room and next day, they get it back for free! I’ve been financially screwed! What a prank! What we got for the £50 million was Laca for five years. It seems like a lot, but we knew we weren’t going to be making any money on a 30-year-old striker. He’s been fine. Not £50 million fine, but fine nonetheless. Lyon was without his services for the same five year period, it’s not like we paid them and immediately loaned him back… Read more »
F them why exactly? It makes absolute sense and tbf, if Lacazette indeed goes in the summer as it looks, I actually hope he goes back to his old club and enjoys the autumn of his career in a club that he likes.
People focus on sell on values too much. He worked his entire contract, that’s what you pay for, unless it’s a young star in question
We have become the club who pulls down its pants, bends over, and lets every other club..;…….smh
No, we’ve become a club that is rectifying past mistakes.
Laca was brought in overpriced when we couldn’t get Auba. Then we got Auba 6 months later and had a weird fwd profile pairing since.
Old Arsenal would have panicked and brought in a new burden this Jan, but we stayed strong and will instead get a considered, strategic, long-term signing in the summer (17 games away).
This comment is valid if we are in the top 4-6 after these 17 games. If not the next striker we would attract will be a Euro conference league quality player.
We have that already in Nketiah
To be brutally honest, Nketiah has yet to prove himself to be Europa Conference League quality.
Yes, but he wants to leave us. Lol
That’s not really right. All the noises were that Wenger turned down Auba in favor of Laca & only got Laca after Athletico got slapped with a transfer ban. Auba was brought in as Wenger was being stripped of power – remember the whole Sven & he who shall not be named photo op. Laca played hard but never really lived up to his fee.
true, but we’re going to need more than one striker in the summer, so even if we couldn’t get our targets for the strtiing role we could have brought in *somone.*
that said, i’m more upset we let zakaria go to juve for less than 5 million. we should have been in it to gazump them. james and andrew on the arsecast extra saying “i think we’ll be okay in midfield” made my brain hurt, because it means we’re relying on xhaka and i have never seen a less reliable player convince 3 consecutive managers to rely on him.
I wouldn’t mind an extension on sensible wages.
He won’t score goals but brings a lot of our attacking players into the game. His link up play will be hard to replace.
Here’s to hoping that we can get the striker transfer equivalent of Tomiyasu in the summer.
An extension? He needs a Zimmer frame and packing off ASAP.
Finding a link up player who scores 10 – 15 PL goals a year really isn’t all that hard to find. He’s actually arguably been a downgrade on Giroud. Finding a center forward who scores 20-25 goals and is willing to come is a different story.
Arteta aiming to do a Pep next season: play without strikers.
Gabriel Jesus is a bonafide striker, also won’t even have that 😳
Frustrating as it is to see another player leave for nothing, it’s probably better to let him go for free, than offer him a multi-year extension
I feel he will age pretty quickly, seeing as he already struggles to do a full 90
Happy for the club to stick to their guns on this one
I guess we’ll probably get to know where it went south for Auba, and how well Laca coped, when the Amazon docu-series comes out
Hmm. I wonder if the reason that the exact problem is being kept quiet is an NDA from Amazon?
They need *something* to sell their cheap reality TV after all.
Obviously he will be going back to the club we paid 50M for him from for free…😂. We can’t get a rest from bants 🤦♂️. This club no longer commands respect, I hope Arteta and the board knows what they are doing…love what they have done with the Rams in the States making it to the Super Bowl. In as much as I hate it, Arteta will be given one more year. If the brand keeps performing poorly(same with revenue), can’t compete in competitions and can’t seem to attract stars, he will surely be sacked. Makes no sense why The… Read more »
You taking the piss?
Given the strikers situation that we’ve found ourselves in, would you offer Lacazette a 1-year extension?
Curious to see. Thumbs up if yes, thumbs down if no.
The problem is that he is looking for a big pay day. Not sure he will take anything less than 2 years.
Get rid. He’s done. Finished.
Agreed, plus he doesn’t want to stay anyway so why try and make him? We’ll be in an ‘Auba position’ all over again and need to learn..! The biggest problem is where we get a 20+ goal a season Striker from, who won’t cost the earth. Trouble is all Clubs will know we’re desperate and hike the price up. Our only hope is finishing top 4 with a Champs League carrot, but for me that ship has sailed as we’re not consistent enough or score enough goals. Call me negative, but am just being realistic and so want to be… Read more »
“he doesn’t want to stay anyway”
where have you seen this? I had not heard he was eager to leave.
We need two strikers if we let Laca go because Nketiah is going as well. That is a big risk to take. We could have done this better if Pepe was more integral in the front line. But we just haven’t been able to get the best out of him for a prolonged period.
It’s a bit difficult with virtually zero game time. I expect him to be moved on if there are any takers. If not, he’ll be next to be marginalised.
It ain’t a risk letting nketia go, believe me.
Well, it helps when you’re actually allowed to play.
Along with Auba, Arteta has steadfastly refused to play Pepe.
It’s all been about Laca and Eddie.
Which is exactly why we are where we are now. Out of both cups and – realistically speaking – out of the race for top four.
This mess is on Arteta – no one else.
I’d offer him one more year, but not more. He seems to have a great influence on the kids, has always been very professional, and would spare us a double striker search in the summer. And it gives us some time to potentially experiment with Balogun and/or Martinelli, before buying a back-up striker and closing the door for them.
Thing is, I don’t think he’ll accept anyway.
No. We can’t keep enabling Arteta’s worst instincts.
You know that if we signed someone more mercurial, they’d be out of favor within six months and he’d go back to Mr. Dependable.
Now watch him continue to pick the new Laurel and Hardy (Laca and Eddie) and, game by game, his minions on here tripping over their excuses to absolve him.
Pathetic.
To be honest, I can’t wait for him to go. He’s beyond slow. I’m sick to the back teeth of watching him amble around, being a yard behind everyone else on the pitch, giving away possession and bottling out of headers. If Arteta has got a shred of intelligence, he’ll play Martinelli up front with Saka on the right, ESR on the left and Odegaard behind them centrally. Then bring on Pepe off the bench as and when required. Eddie and Laca should be nowhere near the pitch from now on – unless we get an injury/suspension crises that means… Read more »
the man has defended your badge for five years with great commitment and responsibility. he doesn’t deserve the classless, brainless comment you just wrote about him at all. disgusting beyond football terms, really.
His non existent finishing and propensity to leave a gaping hole in our attack is one of the major reasons we are out of both domestic cups and relying on the checkered form of other clubs to sustain a fading push for Champions League football next season. But hey, don’t take my word for it. Even Blogs has said that doesn’t expect Laca and Eddie to contribute anything more than five goals for the rest of the season between the pair of them. What’s indeed brainless is people like you – and, one has to concede, the manager – continuously… Read more »
i never said laca was any good or bad, nor what i expected from him. you’re entitled to think he’s a bad player and that he shouldn’t be playing, i just think you didn’t need to disrespect him like that to make your point.
Amen, his class and commitment to adapt to this system, to mentor young players, to fight like hell to start, to proudly and deservingly captain this team as his best friend on the team is marginalized due to behaviors …. Laca is a man’s man and his teammates know it.
I trust the judgement of his manager, his teammates and my eyes way more than others who know nothing about the realities of what is happening. I was worried that the whole Auba crap might sour Laca but once again he stepped up like the stud he is.
The realities, such as they are, are that we are out of both cup competitions and struggling to keep pace in the bid for top four.
That is in no short measure down to the goal shy performances of your ‘stud’ and Eddie the Beverly Hills Flop.
It would be nice doe him to go back. But he feels like an Atleti striker now. Hopefully, Simeone will take him in the summer.
I prefer if we keep getting younger.
Ah yes, Leon, a club for the Professionals
Really sick of the term ” leaving on a free.” Why keep him with what is now a depleted squad if he could have brought something back. Once again there will no money in place to replace a departing player. We will have 5-8 departures with a return of a bag of balls. Other than some good, young players there is little for a supporter to grasp onto.
Tbf I kind of agreed with Wenger all those years ago when he said players running down their contracts / moving on frees will become more normal in the future. Granted, it’s had a bigger impact on us because we’ve been trying to sort out signing / contract mistakes and at times having to pay players to go away. But it’s also going on elsewhere with folks like Mbappe, Dembele, Pogba, Dybala, Christensen & Rudiger etc. etc. I wonder if more in the future it’ll move to a sort of American system, where players sign a contract and can be… Read more »
Letting a player leave on a free is much better than re-signing them on the expensive.
Having players leave for free is obviously not good, but getting rid of players who’ve been mostly ineffective for us recently is good. So if Kroenke wants to throw some more money at the club in the summer we’ve actually got some proper breathing space to sign good players.
I believe that Martinelli will come to the fore! He is an incredible talent! He reminds me of a faster direct version of a young Van Persie in some way, as he is also quite creative. I do believe he is going to be an absolute superstar along side Saka, ESR & Ödegaard. I believe this young team has it in them to make the top 4 this season & although it’s huge risk to not add another striker to the squad now the management are also showing tremendous faith & belief in their ability. While Barca sink (no Ref… Read more »
Also …. if the details about Auba’s contract with Barcalona are true, then I feel very sorry & sad for him. It seems rather desperate to accept such a substantial pay cut, which also includes an “early exit” & £85 Million “buyout” clauses, when you’re tied into the deal up until 2025! It feels as if Barcalona walked all over him – such a terrible shame. He certainly deserved a better result for himself than that. It seemed that he was so desperate to get away that he accepted these terms 🙁 I hope it works out for your mate,… Read more »
why get thumbed down for this comment? Even Wrighty thinks Auba leaving is a tragedy! I was only saying that things got so bad that he flew himself the Barcalona without anyone else’s knowledge & accepted a deal way below what he is worth! Is he a £80,000 a week player? That’s what he has supposedly accepted from horrible Barcalona. Maybe there is a very good reason why Arteta treated Auba with no respect at all, but for me this happens too often with too many players & therefore I still cannot take to Arteta. Carrying on in such a… Read more »
Lyon is a great French club. We should be raiding their players more often. Personally I think Paqueta is better than Aouar and Cacqueret fits Arteta’s philosophy and is young.
Well, we’ve been very public about our Laca strikers.
More delusional Arsenal fans. They think this lack of transfer window business in Jan is some grand scheme to spend in the summer for a truly exceptional striker. More likely than not, we will get scraps. Consider we are no longer a destination that convinces top prospects to come to as can be seen by Guimares dissing us for Newcastle. Back in the day, Wenger would have swung that deal in Arsenal’s favour based on his reputation. More likely now, we will be again out of europe, in disarray this summer wtih plenty of band aids to plaster on like… Read more »
I would rather he stays and takes up a second choice striker to our new striker he has been a true servant of the club even if he leaves he will be remembered as an Emirates icon. The sh*t won’t miss him haha
I don’t really see the point in Lacazette being offered a new deal. However, this continued saga of buying players for £xyz and then letting them go on a free can’t last forever…
I agree Arsenal need to improve drastically in the selling department.
But as predicted by Wenger several years ago, players running down their contracts and leaving for free has become far more common and is in no way exclusively an Arsenal problem. While I won’t say forever, it’s probably gonna be happening a lot, and for quite a while. Now paying players to leave, on the other hand, needs to end immediately. That’s just a direct result of horrible contract management.