As if losing the first game of the season was not bad enough, Arsenal’s pursuit of Lyon’s star striker Alexandre Lacazette, also seems to have stalled.
Lyon boss Bruno Genesio has put months of speculation to rest by stating that Lacazette is going nowhere this summer. The Gunners have been pursuing the player for several months, but all their efforts to bring him to the Emirates had been refuted so far.
Recently, Lacazette spoke in French TV show Canal Football Club saying , “If there are offers that can’t be refused, I’d like to not refuse them.”
However, Genesio has made a statement regarding the issue, clearly mentioning that Lacazette is happy at Lyon and will stay on.
According to Get French Football, he went on to say,” There is no uncertainty with regards to Alexandre Lacazette. He needs to feel loved. He is and he will stay at Lyon.”
Lacazette has played his entire career so far at Lyon, starting from the youth team. The Frenchman has gone on to make 232 appearances for the club, scoring 95 goals in the process. The last three seasons have especially gone well for the striker as he netted in excess of 20 goals each time. His breakthrough came in the 2014-15 season, when he netted a total of 31 goals for Lyon, out of which 27 came in the League, making him top scorer that season. It was an achievement for which he bagged the Ligue 1 player of the season award. Last season, Lacazette scored 21 goals in the league and has started this season with a bang as he netted a hat-trick in Lyon’s season opener against Nancy.
His performances have not gone unnoticed by Arsene Wenger, who saw a 29.3 million pound bid rejected in July. That did not deter him from his continued pursuit, but it seems most likely that Lacazette will now stay at Lyon.
Wenger wants to add more firepower to his front-line to provide competition for Olivier Giroud, who is recovering from an injury, and for Theo Walcott too. This transfer saga, however, seems to have gone the same way as the one involving Jamie Vardy. A deal looked imminent, and on the verge of being struck, only for it to fall apart. Indeed, Lacazette would have been a sensational addition to the Arsenal squad with his pace and power. Now that a deal looks highly unlikely, Wenger has to yet again look for other options.
