West Ham lifeline to offer snubbed Arsenal forward chance at revenge

Arsenal trio Alexandre Lacazette, Gabriel Martinelli and Nicolas Pepe 2020

West Ham have been named as a potential landing spot for an Arsenal forward whose career in North London is coming to an underwhelming end, per a report.

The Hammers have gone from strength to strength in the second stint of David Moyes as manager. They displayed maturity well beyond their years on the European stage last week with a thoroughly professional performance at Dinamo Zagreb.

A heart-breaking league defeat to Man Utd followed. But as all good clubs strive to do, West Ham immediately got back on the horse and dumped the Red Devils out of the EFL Cup on Wednesday night.

The club’s future appears bright, though just a single injury to Michail Antonio could bring them back down to earth.

West Ham deploy the likes of Jarrod Bowen or Andriy Yarmolenko as false nines when Antonio is absent. That is a far from ideal scenario for a team hoping to lift silverware this season.

As such, 90min report West Ham – along with London rivals Crystal Palace – are in the mix for Arsenal hitman Alexandre Lacazette.

The Frenchman, 30, is in the year of his contract at the Emirates. The once-club record signing has never hit the heights Arsenal fans hoped for, though he remains a steady source of goals when featuring regularly.

But per 90min, it is looking increasingly unlikely a contract renewal will be offered. They claim ‘talks’ between Arsenal and Lacazette’s team have ‘taken place’. However, neither the club or player seem ‘keen’ to strike a deal.

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An overseas exit could materialise. Indeed, Lacazette will be free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs come January. A return to Lyon is theorised, while Atletico Madrid were revealed to be in the frame earlier this week.

But it is a move to West Ham that is the most intriguing. The Hammers are clearly in need of reliable back-up to Antonio. And unlike Arsenal, West Ham have European football to offer.

Another feather in the potential deal’s cap comes from the player’s personal stance. He is described as being ‘open’ to remaining in the capital. Additionally, selling to West Ham in January would recoup a fee rather than losing him abroad for nothing next summer.


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Arsenal swap proposal to torpedo Tottenham plan?

Meanwhile, Arsenal are reportedly set to offer Juventus a swap deal that could help both clubs solve medium-term issues – but their efforts could put a spanner in the works for Nuno Espirito Santo’s plans for Tottenham.

As per the Daily Express, Arsenal could offer Granit Xhaka to Juventus to help solve one of their big issues. The Turin outfit have endured a sorry start to the season and currently sit in 13th, having won just one of their first five games.

And one of their main issues has been their struggles in the centre of the park. Indeed, attacking midfielder Aaron Ramsey has been asked to fill in as a defensive midfielder.

So it comes as no surprise to see Calciomercato suggest that signing a new defensive midfielder is top of Massimiliano Allegri’s January priorities.

However, with finances tight, they may need to explore a possible swap deal to finance the deal. And as per the report, the two clubs could look to trade players with Weston McKennie heading the other way.

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