After three summers of being linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium, Alexandre Lacazette looks set to become an Arsenal player on a five year contract after a bid of £43.8m was accepted by Lyon.
The French forward passed his medical on Tuesday after an opening bid of £39m was rejected by the French club last month but Arsenal refused to give up the pursuit and will be delighted to sign one of their top transfer targets.
The £43.8m (€50m) transfer fee means it will eclipse the club-record £42.5m Arsenal paid for Mesut Ozil four years ago to become the record signing of the club with announcement expected today from the club.
The striker is eager to make his mark at club level before the 2018 World Cup in Russia and is facing stiff competition within Didier Deschamps’ France squad from emerging talents such as Kylian Mbappé.
The free-scoring French forward scored 28 league goals last term and 37 in all competitions in 45 games.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Gonzalo Higuain and Robert Lewandowski have scored more goals in a major European league over the past three seasons.
The 26-year-old striker is above Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Aguero, Kane and everyone else among the strikers in the World’s top 5 leagues.
Lacazette’s transfer could force the departure of Giroud from Arsenal with interest from English clubs like Everton and West Ham.
Arsenal remain keen on the possible signings of Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez, Monaco’s Thomas Lemar if they fail to get highly rated French forward Kylian Mbappe who they face with competition from Real Madrid.
