Arsenal fans are generally a nervous bunch when it comes to transfer windows, mostly because they are used to their club being rather incompetent when it comes to signing players they actually need.
Mesut Özil and Alexis Sanchez aside, some of Arsène Wenger’s signings in the past have been more than questionable, and it’s caused a lot of them to actively ask us if there’s anything anywhere about Arsenal being linked with players.
Last week’s flavour was Ricardo Rodriguez, with the Swiss defender’s release clause expiring, and Arsenal’s apparent need for a new left-back, while Monday’s early morning questions revolved around Alexandre Lacazette.
It would appear that Olivier Giroud’s Euro 2016 form (despite scoring three goals) hasn’t appeased their fears of not having a consistent striker, and Lyon’s striker has been linked with a move to the Premier League all summer.
By rejecting a £31m bid from West Ham for the player, Jean-Michel Aulas, the Ligue 1 club’s president, made it clear he would make it very difficult for clubs to buy their star man, and his words on Sunday won’t have helped either.
Speaking to Canal+, he said Lacazette would be staying, that he thought that was also the player’s wish, and that his manager counted on him for next season.
.@JM_Aulas sur @canalplus “On a eu quelques coups de fil mais Alexandre va rester, je crois que c’est son envie et le coach compte sur lui”
— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) July 2, 2016
This is probably the reason why there is very little on Lacazette to anywhere on Monday morning, with the only articles remotely mentioning him pushing a story from England that, well, is a ’rumour rating’ from SkySports.
That’s where things stand for now in France, and we’ll, of course, keep you updated if anything else crops up.
