Arsenal: ‘Very nice’ Alexandre Lacazette offer opens doors

Arsenal have made a ‘very nice’ offer for Alexandre Lacazette. The tabling of such an offers opens doors that are rather exciting for the Gunners.

Ever since Robin van Persie departed in a controversial move in the summer of 2012, Arsenal have not had a starring centre-forward to lead the side with potency and intention in the final third, often relying on goalscoring wingers and attacking midfielders to account for their goals.

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While in theory, it may sound like a sensible decision, history tells us otherwise. Since van Persie departed in 2012, every title winner has had one, central figure leading the line who guarantees goals: van Persie himself with Manchester United, Sergio Aguero with Manchester City, Diego Costa with Chelsea (twice) and Jamie Vardy with Leicester City. Throughout that whole period, Arsenal have stagnated with mediocrity in the form of Olivier Giroud.

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That is not to say that Giroud is a bad player. But rather, he is the calibre of striker who is able to fire his team to a title with an overwhelming number and consistency of goals. That is why there have been calls for Arsene Wenger to invest heavily in the summer transfer window, trying to find an improvement on the towering Frenchman. And it looks as though he is returning to Giroud’s native country to do just that.

Lyon’s president Jean-Michel Aulas admitted that they have received a ‘very nice’ offer for Alexandre Lacazette:

"“Alexandre Lacazette was told he could leave. We had negotiations with Atletico. Things did not work out. We now have a very nice offer from Arsenal. But for us he will not leave.”"

It is an extremely intriguing prospect for the Gunners, and one that they should certainly explore. While Aulas confirmed that they would reject the offer, it does affirm that there is clear interest in the player and that the club is willing to spend heavily, with the reports suggesting that the figure is as high as £60 million.

Lacazette would provide that striking player that almost all title-winning sides boast. Throughout his time at Lyon, he has scored goals at an alarming rate, including 28 in just 30 league games last season to add to 15, 27 and 21 goal league campaigns in the past four years. Lacazette is an extremely consistent, proven goalscorer who would provide a much-needed ruthless edge to the Arsenal attack in the final third.

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Whether a deal can be completed or not, only time will tell. There is clearly still some negotiating to be done regarding a price, and if that does come to be, an agreement must also be found with the player. However, Lacazette is an intriguing possibility that could well provide the title-challenging striking option that Wenger has been so desperately searching for.