Atletico Madrid reach verbal agreement with Arsenal target

Arsenal have been dealt a potential decisive blow in their pursuit of Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette after Atletico Madrid reached a verbal agreement with the forward for his signature, reports Spanish outlet Cadena Cope.

Lacazette, 25, has long been linked with a move away from Lyon and the Ligue 1 giants even turned down Arsenal’s advances last summer in order to keep hold of their star man.

The France international has taken his game to another level this season and is expected to be subject of heavy transfer speculation again this summer, with Arsene Wenger ready to rekindle his interest in the frontman.

However, Arsenal may have already missed the boat on Lacazette’s services with Atletico now seemingly in pole position after reaching a verbal agreement with the Lyon No.9.

Diego Simeone’s side paid a high price to bring Kevin Gameiro in from Sevilla last summer but the Spanish giants are ready to break the bank once again as they look to convince Antoine Griezmann to stay put rather than sign Lacazette as his replacement.

In Europe’s top five leagues this season only Edinson Cavani (27) and Lionel Messi (25) have scored more goals than Lacazette (23) this season.

For more stats on Alexandre Lacazette, click here to visit his WhoScored player page