GUNNERS READY TO BREAK BANK FOR £44m LACAZETTE
ARSENAL have agreed a deal with Lyon to sign France striker Alexandre Lacazette for what could be a club-record transfer fee of £44million. The deal would surpass the £42.5m it cost Arsenal to sign Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid in 2013 and is expected to be completed in the next 48 hours after Lacazette travels to London for a medical. Arsenal made an unsuccessful £29m bid to sign the 26-year-old a year ago and saw an opening offer of £39.5m rejected this summer, before reaching an agreement with Lyon owner Jean-Michel Aulas. Aulas dismissed speculation the transfer could be worth £58.7m including bonuses, saying: ‘It’s an impossible sum that is not realistic. The first offer made by Arsenal was £39.5m. The deal will happen for something between that and £43.8m. To be close to €50m is something unique, and will be a record for Arsenal and a record for Lyon. ‘One must also take into account that traditionally, a club like Arsenal do not have the habit of spending so much for one player. ‘We will without a doubt hit a record. It is not a small transfer, €50m for a player who was produced by our club.’ Arsene Wenger has refused to give up the pursuit and will be delighted to sign one of his top transfer targets after accepting that he is unlikely to get Kylian Mbappe from Monaco. Lacazette has been with Lyon since the start of his career, scoring 129 goals in 275 games for his hometown club. Last season he scored 37 times in 45 appearances.