Arsenal: Kylian Mbappe Forcing Lacazette Transfer Down The Drain

Arsenal has been tied to Alexandre Lacazette since his breakout season two years ago, but time has not been kind to this transfer rumor.

Arsenal had a dire need to sign a striker last summer, but given the lack of big name strikers moving, they went subtle with Lucas Perez and, for the most part, it has worked incredibly well. You know the transfer worked out when the only complaint Gooners have is that he isn’t being used enough.

This summer, however, there are going to be some major moves. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang said he was moving. Alexandre Lacazette said he was moving. Sergio Aguero, Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann could move as well.

Most of those still have a lot of appeal. But Lacazette’s is steadily dropping with the emergence of Kylian Mbappe. While Lacazette has an amazing rate of contributing to a goal every 74 minutes, he finds himself outdone in Ligue 1 only by the 18 year old Mbappe, who is contributing to a goal every hour.

And, at this rate, they are both going to be around the same cost.

It was just last summer that Lyon were looking for a stupid £60m for their quick-footed striker. Which isn’t going to change, given how great he has been this year.

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But Mbappe is only going to cost £51m, he plays for a better Ligue 1 squad and he is seven years the junior of Lacazette, making his ceiling infinitely higher and his longevity obviously an upside.

That alone should be enough to turn the chase off of Lacazette. You can say that he is a safer bet and that’s a perfectly solid argument. But if the end goal is a safe bet, there are safer ones for about the same price, like Aubameyang.

But a safe bet certainly doesn’t seem like it should be the end goal. Not with Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck, Lucas Perez and (God willing) Alexis Sanchez on the books, we have a nice supply of strikers.

A long-term options like Mbappe far outweighs the need for another wannabe first-team regular like Lacazette. Who, while he may be incredibly talented, is not the safest bet out there.

Next: 5 Game-Changing Summer Transfers

Wenger doesn’t really like spending gobs of money anyway, particularly on a striker – something that he has never done. But as he said himself, for the right talent, money isn’t an issue, and Mbappe’s price tag should not be an issue.

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