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Arsenal to table improved £41.8m bid for 23-goal striker – reports

By mac14 on July 14, 2016

According to reports in France, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is set to submit an improved £41.8m bid for Alexandre Lacazette after seeing our opening £33.4m offer rejected by Lyon.

Wenger has been busy searching for a striker this summer and has turned his attention to alternative targets after Jamie Vardy decided to remain at Leicester City.

Several names have been linked with a move to the Emirates in recent weeks but Gonzalo Higuain and Lacazette have emerged as arguably the two most likely targets.

However, with Napoli demanding silly money for Higuain, it looks as though the boss has made his move for Lacazette as reports in France this evening claim that we’re lining-up an improved offer for the striker.

The reports come from outlet Le Progres, who claim that after seeing our opening £33.4m (€40m) bid rejected by Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, Wenger is now ready to go back in with a fresh £41.8m (€50m) offer.

It’s difficult to know how much truth there is behind these reports as there is so much speculation flying around these days so I’d suggest taking them with a pinch of salt for now until something more concrete comes out.

However, it’s certainly plausible that Wenger is trying to thrash out a deal with Lyon for Lacazette as the Higuain transfer is going to be extremely difficult to pull off if Napoli don’t lower their reported £70m+ asking price.

One thing that’s for sure is that we need to sign a striker this summer and while my preferred option would be Higuain, Lacazette would be a very useful alternative if we can’t land the Argentinean international.

Despite enduring a difficult start to the season, the 25-year-old still ended up scoring 23 goals in 44 games for Lyon last year and I think he could easily top that figure with the likes of Ozil and Sanchez supporting him at Arsenal.

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Let’s see how this all develops but the important thing is we’re in the market for a top class striker. Fingers crossed Wenger can get a deal done this summer….