Arsenal suffer massive striker blow after balls-up - reliable journalist

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Published on:

03 May 2017, 12:50 pm

By Harry Sykes

Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette is not keen on joining Arsenal after their ham-fisted attempts to sign him last summer, according to a reliable journalist.

The Telegraph's football correspondent Jason Burt has claimed that Atletico Madrid are in the driving seat to land the prolific striker in the forthcoming transfer window.

Lyon confirmed that Arsenal had an offer for Lacazette, believed to be worth £29million, rejected last summer, while West Ham also had a £43million bid knocked back.

Burt reported on his personal Twitter account on Wednesday that one of the "major reasons" Lacazette, 25, is "unlikely" to be keen to join the Gunners is the "balls-up" made trying to land him less than 12 months ago.

One of the major reasons Lacazette is unlikely to want to join Arsenal is the balls-up they made trying to sign him last year
— Jason Burt (@JBurtTelegraph) May 3, 2017

Champions League semi-finalists Atletico are the favourites but Lacazette is attracting plenty of interest from other leading Premier League sides in addition to Arsenal.

Atletico Madrid remain favourites to sign Laczette - as I've written before - but there are plenty of other options including Premier League
— Jason Burt (@JBurtTelegraph) May 3, 2017

Lacazette is the second leading scorer in the French league this season after coming runner-up also in 2015-16 to Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The player top of the pile this season is Ibrahimovic's former teammate Edinson Cavani, who has 31 league goals from 2,704 minutes played.

Lacazette also has a excellent strike rate of 24 league goals from just 27 matches and 2,170 minutes played.

The Lyon spearhead has scored an impressive 31 goals from 40 matches in all competitions to make him one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe.

Lyon are still hopeful of keeping Lacazette at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais for at least another season, given that he has two years left on his current contract.

In other Arsenal transfer news, the club have sealed their first summer signing after he underwent a secret medical two weeks ago.

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Arsenal

Alexandre Lacazette