Earlier in the week, Arsenal’s new captain, Alexandre Lacazette granted an interview where he made some comments that many belief were disrespectful to his club. In the interview, he admitted that he still keep close contact with his former club, Lyon, adding that they know he is free, and if they want him, they should bring a proposal.
He did not stop there, Alexandre Lacazette who became the captain of Arsenal earlier in the year after the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to FC Barcelona, revealed that he missed UEFA Champions League football.
He did not also stop there, the 30-year-old French striker whose contract with Arsenal will expire on June 30, 2022, revealed that he has been negotiating with a lot of clubs.
“I am in discussions with a lot of clubs,’ Lacazette told Canal Plus. “I am open…
“I have never cut contact with Lyon since I left. I try to return to the club once or twice a year to see the medical staff because we are really close. Lyon know that I am free, they have to come up with a proposal.
“I want to play in Europe, it’s been a long time since I played in the Champions League, I’m missing it.
“It’s a little more complicated, nothing is impossible in life, but it’s a little more complicated.”
What we know about the contract of Alexandre Lacazette and his stats at Arsenal this season:
Alexandre Lacazette joined Arsenal on July 5, 2017, from Lyon for a transfer fee worth €53 million. Since then, the 30-year-old Frenchman has scored 71 goals and provided 36 assists in 201 games in all competitions.
Between 2017 and 2022, Lacazette has managed to help Arsenal to win only one FA Cup title in 2020 and one Community Shield in 2018.
So far this season, Alexandre Lacazette has managed to score just 6 goals and provided 8 assists in 31 games in all competitions which is a terrible stat for a strike playing at Arsenal.
Due to his poor form, coach Mikel Arteta have not been able to build the team around him as much as he would have wanted since Aubameyang left for Barca in January.
Aubameyang who just joined Barca this January has scored 8 La Liga goals in 10 league games for the Spanish club. While Lacazette has managed to score just a goal in 14 league games in 2022.
Despite his poor form, Lacazette still earns £182,063 per week as a player of Arsenal based on the contract he signed with the Premier League club on July 5, 2017. The contract will expire on June 30, 2022.
Though Lacazette wishes that he could stay at Arsenal beyond this summer, Arsenal have put talks on contracts renewal at the club on hold until the end of the Premier League season in May.
The Frenchman whose future is in the air is not ready to wait until May before he starts looking for alternatives.
Unfortunately for him and Arsenal, he is currently battling with a covid-19 infection which forced him to miss Arsenal’s 1-0 league defeat at the hands of Southampton on April 16. He is likely to miss Arsenal’s Premier League game against Chelsea later tonight, April 20, at 19:45 due to the infection.
Coach Mikel Arteta reacts to Lacazette’s comments
Ahead of Arsenal’s visit to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea later tonight, coach Mikel Arteta urged Lacazette to focus on defending Arsenal.
He stressed that the Frenchman is still under contract with Arsenal, adding that the club has told him that the club would discuss with him in the coming summer.
The Spanish coach said: “We have expressed clearly what our intention is – to speak in the summer once we know where we are, about what we are going to do in the future together.
“And for the rest, I just want him fully focused on his duty, which is now defend Arsenal in the best possible way, like he has done all the time he has been with us.
“That’s why he has been wearing the armband of this football club, that’s a big reason…
“It is the agreement that we made with him, that was our position and our position remains the same, that is what we are going to do.
“The risk of that happening, it was always there since the moment we made that decision, then it is up to him.”
Arsenal are currently contending for a top-four finish. They need to beat Chelsea tonight to improve their chances of grabbing at least the 4th spot.
Arsenal are currently sitting on the 5th spot with 54 points in 31 games, three points away from 4th placed Tottenham Hotspur. A defeat tonight could end Arsenal’s dream of finishing the 2021-2022 season in the top four.
