Arsenal have been put on high alert after Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette confirmed he will play his final game for the club this weekend.
Lacazette has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal and Atletico Madrid in recent weeks after enjoying another stunning season in Ligue 1 but is now expected to snub Arsene Wenger’s side in favour of joining the Spanish giants.
The 25-year-old has spent all of his professional career at Lyon after progressing through the youth ranks before making his first-team debut back in 2010 and he has developed into one of the best strikers in France since then.
Lyon were hopeful of keeping their No.10 for at least one more season but Lacazette, who has also now returned to Didier Deschamps’ France squad, is ready to take on a new challenge next season.
“I think that’s [the summer] the right moment [to leave],” he told L’Equipe, via Sky Sports. “I want to discover something else, to put myself in danger and to get to the next level.
“People say in passing that I score goals, but I know very well that on the European level I am not very known. I want to see if I can answer the questions that people are asking, and to make further progress.
“It’s totally me [who will decide where he signs]. It’s [Atletico] a club that is in the last stages of the Champions League for several years. It is a great team, in a new stadium, and it is also a club that makes players progress. And there is [France teammate] Antoine Griezmann.”
Atletico would hope that Lacazette’s arrival would help take the club to the next level and form a great partnership with Griezmann rather than replace the Manchester United target.
In the last three Ligue 1 campaigns Lacazette has scored more goals than any other player (75).
For more stats on Alexandre Lacazette, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
