Arsenal transfer twist as Alexandre Lacazette set for new contract

The future of Alexandre Lacazette has been at the forefront of transfer speculation building up to the summer. Mikel Arteta has a striker dilemma on his hands and Arsenal had seemingly come to a decision on his future, one that appears to have taken a twist.

Oh Alexandre Lacazette. You love him, but you never hate him. He frustrates, but he never truly elates.

Patches of fine form intertwined with spells of drought have become the regular timeline of his spell in north London, pulling out performances in big games then going missing for others.

With Folarin Balogun and Eddie Nketiah unable to break into the first team and edging closer to exits in the summer, the same was expected of Lacazette who with little over a year left on his contract and edging closer to 30 years of age, it felt was due a change of scenery.

Arsenal transfer twist as Alexandre Lacazette set for new contract by Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta has spoken about the situation with the Frenchman on numerous occasions throughout the season, with his most recent comments hinting strongly that an exit was on the cards:

"“He’s got a contract with us,” he said. “He played really well the other week. It’s exactly what we demand him to do. I’m really happy with him and the discussions about his contract will happen soon and we will see what happens. “I’m hoping that a player under contract will continue with us. Every case is different and we’re going to assess that and we’ll make a decision in relation to that.”"

Balance those words with those used when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was in a similar situation and it suggests he will give his all this season until the summer when he will move on.

Lacazette is, however, the second top scorer for Arsenal this campaign with 13 goals, with three of those coming from the penalty spot. One of his best halves of football in recent memory came last time out too, as he was outstanding in the second half of the comeback draw with West Ham.

While it appeared that Arsenal would cash in on the former Lyon man, there have been new developments that suggest otherwise.