Lacazette To Finally Join Arsenal, As €40m Deal Is Set To Be Finalised

Arsenal are reportedly close to the signing of Olympic Lyon striker Alexander Lacazette, despite the French club having reportedly rejected Arsenal's €35 million bid for the striker.

We have been in the market for a new striker since the transfer window opened, but have suffered defeat in the chase for most of our targets. Firstly, it was Jamie Vardy rejecting the chance to join us, choosing to instead remain at Leicester City. Then we were linked with the signing of Alvaro Morata, but it appears Madrid would prefer to keep the Spaniard.

Another player we have been linked with is Gonzalo Higuain, who has now signed for Juventus in a big money move. However, it appears Arsenal have a realistic chance of getting Lacazette.

Lyon yesterday confirmed they have turned down a bid of €35 million from us for Lacazette but, according to French journalist Bielel Ghazi, Arsenal have not given up on signing Lacazette and will table a new bid of €40 million for the France international, who has also been linked with a move to West Ham.

Confirming this, Bilel Ghazi tweeted the following;

Info @lequipe : malgré le refus de l'OL, Arsenal va persister pour A. Lacazette. Une nouvelle offre d'environ 40 M€ devrait être formulée

— Bilel Ghazi (@BilelGhazi) July 26, 2016

This translated to English means: "Arsenal will persist for Alexander Lacazette despite Lyon's refusal to sell. A new offer of €40 million should get the deal done"

Hopefully, the highly reliable journalist is right. The signing of Lacazette will make a lot of sense for us, especially considering the fact that he is almost the only top-quality striker still available.

However, if Wenger really wants him, we need to move fast and decisively. Other clubs are watching and, with Gazidis confirming we can't "outgun" the money bags like Chelsea, we stand the risk of losing Lacazette to other richer clubs if we do not move very quickly.

And failure to sign a striker this summer certainly won't be accepted by the fanbase. We really do not have any excuse to miss out on signing a striker, considering we have the money. If we had been decisive enough, we would have got what we wanted by now. Instead, as usual, we are left biting our nails, waiting for a top striker who may never arrive.