Bound to leave Lyon at some stage, Alexandre Lacazette eventually took the plunge of trying football outside of France by going to Arsenal in the Premier League.
Seemingly set to join Atlético Madrid, with Antoine Griezmann allegedly ready to head to Manchester United, the CAS decision to stop the Spaniards from registering players during the summer transfer window messed everything up.
That’s when Arsène Wenger and the Gunners stepped in, quickly becoming favourites in the race to sign one of the more prolific European strikers over the past few seasons.
Speaking to SFR Sport on Tuesday night, relayed by Le10 Sport, Lacazette’s agent, David Venditelli, explained what happened.
He said: “Thankfully, Atlético weren’t the only club interested in Alex. He had, based on talks we had with European sides, a shortlist with a preference for Arsenal, of course. Then again, it was hard to find a club needing a player like him, and capable of spending more than €50m all the while offering him a step up in his career.
“When you put all of that together, that limits the number of clubs, and Arsenal quickly became a priority for Alex, and vice-versa.”
Since signing for the Gunners, the player has received mixed reviews from fans and pundits alike, scoring six goals in 12 appearances, yet ending up on the bench more often than he’d probably like.
It takes time to adapt to a new club, new surroundings and a new style of football, but patience and a £50m price tag rarely go together.
