Arsenal have secured the signing of Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon for a club-record fee of around £52m, beating the previous record held by Mesut Ozil’s transfer from Real Madrid four years ago.
The France international had been constantly pursued by the north London club over the past few seasons, and Arsene Wenger has managed to convince him to join the FA Cup holders following a failed move to Atletico Madrid.
Lacazette was eager to link up with close pal Antoine Griezmann at Atleti, but the failure to overturn their transfer ban at the Court of Arbitration of Sport meant that the Frenchman had to choose another club.
Manchester United and Liverpool had also expressed an interest in Lacazette, but the Gunners’ offer was too good to refuse for Lacazette, who was full of admiration for his new club.
“I want to give one hundred percent in every match. I want to show I’m worthy of the shirt. I want to do everything I can to make sure we win titles,” he told the club’s official website.
Lacazette’s presence is likely to provide a welcome boost to the Gunners’ frontline which has lacked a genuine striker capable of hitting the 30-goal mark each season.
Olivier Giroud has managed to hit double figures in terms of Premier League goals each term but his compatriot has held a far better goal ratio with last season evident of his qualities.
Lacazette managed 37 goals across all competitions for Lyon last term while he finished Edinson Cavani with 28 goals in the Ligue 1 scoring charts.
He is due to link up with the Gunners on their pre-season tour of Australia later this month while the home fans could see him in action during the Emirates Cup scheduled on July 29 & 30.
