Arsenal’s minds already made up on future of Lacazette
Arsenal will look to sell Alexandre Lacazette this summer with a decision already understood to have been made on the striker’s future.
With just 12 months remaining on his contract this summer, the Gunners will cash in on the 29-year-old four-and-a-half years after he arrived at the club.
That is the verdict of football.london, who claim there will be no shortage of suitors for the forward if the price is right.
Lacazette, who has 10 goals in 29 appearances this season for Arsenal, looks ripe to be sold this summer.
He was a target for Atletico Madrid last summer, but no transfer materialised.
The report claims “the most unlikely option of all would be for Arsenal to renegotiate Lacazette’s contract and keep him”. The Gunners have already shelled out big money on contracts for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 31, and Willian, 32. As such, they are unlikely to go down that path again. And instead of losing him for free in the summer of 2022 Edu looks likely to sanction his sale.
“Look at Lacazette and I’m disappointed for him because I don’t think Arteta believes in him,” Cole told talkSPORT.
And Arteta’s comments in January were hardly reassuring for the attacker, who was then a record £52.6m signing from Lyon.
“We will talk in the summer and make a decision on what is going to happen,” said Arteta in January.
“We haven’t talked about anything relating to his contract. I’m delighted with the way he is performing. The goals he is scoring and the form and energy he is in at the moment. He needs to keep doing that.”
Adams hits out at transfer mistakes
Meanwhile, Tony Adams has picked a number of mistakes the club has made in the transfer market.
The former Gunners skipper was particularly damning of their decision to turn to Martin Odegaard, just when Emile Smith Rowe was emerging as a first-team regular in the making.
Adams also slammed the decision to pack off Emiliano Martinez to Aston Villa last summer.
Gunners technical director Edu also came in for criticism for failing to spot the club’s weaknesses, amongst other things.
Adams, who won four top-flight titles with the club, told Astro SuperSport: “Players like Odegaard, my argument is: do you need that type of player when you’ve got Emile, you’ve got [Gabriel] Martinelli, you’ve got all these other kids that are coming through.”