Arsenal will make an improved offer for Lyon star Alexandre Lacazette should a move for Gonzalo Higuain fall through, reports Le Progress.
The French frontman has been strongly linked with a Premier League switch in recent weeks, with Tottenham and West Ham both credited with an interest.
However, the Gunners are now hoping to trump their London rivals in the race to secure Lacazette’s services, should a deal for Higuain fail to materialise.
The Argentine netted 36 league goals last season, with Napoli keen to retain the 28-year-old’s services following his exploits in front of goal.
Lacazette, though, wouldn’t come cheap with Lyon holding out for a fee of around £42m after a £33m bid was rebuffed by club president Jean-Michael Aulas.
But Arsenal will first test Napoli’s result to keep Higuain, with the Gunners prepared to offer Olivier Giroud in exchange to help sweeten the deal before returning with an improved bid for Lacazette.
The 25-year-old striker impressed in Ligue 1 last season, netting 21 league goals, a return bettered only by Zlatan Ibrahimovic (38).
For more stats on Alexandre Lacazette, click here to view his WhoScored player page