Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette progress sorely needed

Arsenal’s summer isn’t going terribly, but some of their more ‘needed’ pursuits are going a bit south. Alexandre Lacazette can be the one to right that.

Arsenal started off the summer with a bang that we should still be celebrating, but as is always going to be the case, that bang did not last long enough. Because the needs that we still have far out-shadow the needs that were addressed with the Sead Kolasinac signing.

I am, of course, speaking of the need for a striker. Yesterday I explored the possibility of Thomas Lemar being brought in to free up Alexis Sanchez to play striker again, so I include Lemar in the category of ‘striker’ simply because of the end result.

Alexandre Lacazette, Kylian Mbappe and Lemar were all hitting a sweet spot in their link to Arsenal, as all three carried significant optimism. Even Mbappe seemed realistic there for awhile, but now all three sagas have taken a turn for the worse.

Mbappe is essentially over. I refuse to belief that there is any way this deal can be completed and, if it can, I don’t see any way that we retain him for more than a couple years before selling him at a loss.

Lemar looked to be rocking out towards a North London future, but with the rejection of Arsenal’s first offer (which also tends to be the last offer), there isn’t a lot to bank on here either.

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It’s with Alexandre Lacazette that we found the most optimism. He has been pushing for an exit for three straight years and finally, this summer, it was openly acknowledged that he would probably be leaving. And after agreeing on a move to Atletico Madrid, the price was made public.

Yet now, even with Lyon landing suitable replacements, we are told that Lacazette is probably not going anywhere. Sure, it’s probably just some mind games from Jean-Michel Aulas, and until we reach the end of this episode, we won’t know for sure. But at this point, a bit of progress sure would be nice.

BBC Sport is reporting that negotiations are ongoing after Lyon rejected the initial bid, but they stand alone on that report. Even Sky Sports report of talks being underway has not materialized into any more progress.

It’s hard to get a feel for progress when talks are underway, but even with Sead Kolasinac, we knew for awhile that it was going to happen. There were hints on top of hints.

Next: Arsenal's 15 Greatest Strikers Of All Time

Something like that would be magnificent in the Lacazette saga.

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