Arsenal star Alexandre Lacazette attracting interest from Monaco
According to the Mirror, Monaco are interested in signing Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette in the summer.
The Frenchman could be on his way back to his home country in the summer as his contract situation remains unsolved. Lacazette scored over 100 goals during his time in French football, and with only one year left on his contract at Arsenal, he might be returning to the Ligue 1.
Lacazette joined Arsenal in 2017 in a €53M move from boyhood club Lyon. The price tag was a club record at the time for both teams involved as Lyon had never sold any player for that amount and Arsenal had never paid that much for any player prior to Lacazette.
The Frenchman was handed the number 9 shirt and quickly settled in. He won the Community Shield on his debut for the Gunners and went on to score four goals in his first four league games.
He however found himself down the pecking order at Arsenal less than a year later, with the departure of Arsene Wenger and the arrival of striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyamg from Dortmund.
He has had a mixed bag of a time at the Emirates playing under four different managers in his four seasons but is now a regular in the side this campaign under manager Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal open to selling Lacazette
With Arteta openly stating that a new deal could be in the offing for Lacazette at Arsenal, the report might come as a surprise. But it appears that Arsenal, though open to keeping him, would not turn down an opportunity to sell him when he still has value.
If a contract renewal cannot be agreed upon, this would seem to be the better option rather than let him walk for free at the end of his current contract.
Lacazette has had to compete for playing time with Aubameyang in recent seasons but although both men are close friends, Arsenal seem more willing to let go of the former than the latter. Lacazette already has a wealth of experience in the French league scoring 100 Ligue 1 goals for Lyon and Monaco look ready to benefit from that should Arsenal decide to sell the striker.
While Arsenal have endured a very tough season so far, Lacazette has been one of their few positives with 10 goals in all competitions. The Frenchman has scored 58 goals for Arsenal since his arrival and has won the FA Cup and the Community Shield. He was also named Arsenal's player of the season in 2018/2019.