Arsenal have been dealt a potential blow in their pursuit of Alexandre Lacazette after Lyon president Jean Michael-Aulas revealed the striker will stay at the club this summer.
Lacazette has emerged as a top transfer target for Arsenal this summer after the France international’s proposed move to Atletico Madrid fell through at the end of last season.
Aulas only recently claimed Arsenal would need to match the £56m Atletico were willing to pay in order to sign the 26-year-old striker, but now the Lyon president believes Lacazette’s future is with the French club.
“I do not think that Alexandre Lacazette will leave this summer,” Aulas told Canal Plus, via The Daily Mail.
Arsenal have endured a difficult summer in the transfer window so far as they have already been knocked back by two bids for Monaco winger Thomas Lemar.
As well as needing to resolve the futures of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, Arsene Wenger now faces the prospect of missing out on two of his top transfer targets this summer.
Lacazette has spent his entire career at Lyon and has established himself as one of the best players in France in that time. In fact, since August 2013 the Frenchman has scored the most goals in Ligue 1 (91) and finished last season as the league’s top rated player (7.57).
For more stats on Alexandre Lacazette, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
